Upbeat over their two major successful attacks against the police on Andhra-Orissa border in less than one month, in which more than 50 policemen were killed, the Maoist rebels are now gearing up to target the police stations to loot the arms. This warning has been issued by the central intelligence agency -- the Intelligence Bureau -- in its report assessing the overall situation of the Naxalite problem in the country.
According to the report, the Communist Party of India-Maoist has prepared a strategy to become stronger in 22 states of the country by 2009.
The report also said that the Maoists already have strong presence in 180 districts of 12 states and have now focused on 10 other states where their activities are limited, reliable sources said.
On the whole, the Maoists wants to have strong presence in 35% of the villages in the country and were working in that direction. For this purpose they are planning to loot the arms and ammunition from the police stations.
According to the assessment of the intelligence agency, there were 38 Naxalite groups active in the country with a one lakh-strong cadre. The report said that these organisations were trying to further bolster their strength through fresh recruitments. To achieve the goal of expanding their revolutionary zones, the Maoists want to carry out more attacks on the police stations and police camps in different parts of the country.
The incidents of attack on the Greyhound force of Andhra Pradesh in Baliela reservoir on June 29 and the recent incident of blasting a police vehicle by landmine have set the alarm bells ringing.
To discuss this situation and further step up pressure on the Maoists, the union home ministry is soon convening a meeting of the home secretaries of the states facing the Maoist problems.