DEBABRATA MOHANTY & SREENIVAS JANYALA

BHUBANESWAR, HYDERABAD, JUNE 30: Seven of the 39 missing jawans of the Greyhounds, the elite anti-Naxalite force of Andhra Pradesh whose motorboat came under attack from Maoists while crossing a reservoir on the Orissa-Andhra border yesterday, were found safe early this morning in the adjoining forests. The body of Udaynath, a constable from Warangal, was found trapped beneath the capsized motorboat where Navy divers were searching the waters for the others still missing.

The ferocity of the attack in Orissa’s Malkangiri district has stunned teams engaged in anti-Naxal operations with officers pointing to a significant upgrade in the rebel firepower. From their positions atop a hillock surrounding the Balimela reservoir, Maoists opened up on the Greyhounds with grenade launchers, light machine guns and automatic weapons.

Orissa IGP Manmohan Praharaj, in-charge of anti-Naxal operations, said: “The Maoist strength is on the rise. The attacks are becoming more audacious, there is layer formation, more meticulous planning. They have more firepower.”

A senior police officer posted in southern Orissa said the Maoists used grenade launchers. “The rebels had looted grenade launchers and light machine guns during a raid on the Nayagarh armoury in February. It was obvious that they would use these weapons and not limit themselves to landmines. The manner in which the Maoists attacked proves their lethal power is intact,” the official said.

Officers said they were worried that Maoists had graduated from landmines to grenade launchers. Yet they conceded they had seen it coming. “We know for sure the Maoists have very sophisticated weapons. We knew about it at least three months ago. The firepower is almost equal. They have got what we have,” an officer said.

“We have been attacked in the past in the same reservoir in Malkangiri. Yesterday we committed a tactical mistake, thinking that the Maoists won’t attack. They know about our movements,” the officer said.

In Andhra Pradesh, Home Minister K Jana Reddy said “we are worried” after the attack on the Greyhounds “who have become a role model for all states facing insurgency.”

“It is the first time since the creation of the Greyhounds in 1989 that that they have come under such a vicious attack,” he said. Sunday’s attack proves that the Maoists, despite recent losses, were still a force to reckon with, Jana Reddy said.

Andhra officials said they were surprised by the Maoist firepower. They confirmed that the attack was carried out with a rocket launcher, LMGs and AK-47s. “This is one of the deadliest attacks by Maoists. It is also the worst ambush the Greyhounds have run into,” an official said.

editor@expressindia.com