The incident occurred when the SF personnel were on a combing operation to flush out Naxalites during the'martyrs' week,' observed every year by the PWG between July 28 and August 3, to commemorate Naxalites who hadlost their lives in the protracted conflict. On the same day, alert Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and statepolice personnel foiled an attempt by the Naxalites to attack the Motu police station in the same district. OnAugust 1, Naxalites of the PWG killed a panchayat samiti (local body) member of the Teleraj panchayat,Kasa Madhi, again in the Malkangiri district.
These attacks have not only exposed the vulnerability of inter-state border districts to Naxalite violence,but also the lack of preparation on the part of the state government to fight Left Wing extremism. In fact,even before the beginning of the 'martyrs' week', there were reports of an increase in Naxalite activities inMalkangiri, Rayagada and Koraput districts bordering Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. Over the past few weeks,the Naxalites had held several meetings in these districts to mobilize tribals and plan future strategies.There were apprehensions that - as in the past - the Naxalites could attack government properties and policestations to mark the occasion, and the government had sounded a 'red alert' and launched combing operations inthese districts. On July 23, the Police arrested 17 hardcore Naxalites in Rayagada and Malkangiri districtsand recovered a huge quantity of explosives from their possession.
Over the years, Naxal groups such as the PWG and the Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) have established theirpresence in districts in Orissa that border Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. While the PWG isactive in the Malkangiri, Rayagada, Gajapati, Ganjam, Koraput and Nabrangpur districts bordering AndhraPradesh, the MCC is steadily increasing its presence in Sundergarh, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districtsbordering Jharkhand and West Bengal. A careful examination of the growth of the Naxalite movement in Orissawould demonstrate that, apart from internal factors such as underdevelopment, poor functioning of institutionsof civil governance, the persistence of traditional structure of exploitations in rural and tribal areas, andan ill-equipped police force, growing Naxalite violence in the neighbouring states has influenced the courseof events in Orissa.
The Naxalbari movement in the late 1960s had a significant impact on the neighbouring districts of Koraput andGanjam on the Andhra Pradesh border and Mayurbhanj on the West Bengal border. A state Coordination Committeehad been constituted on March 14, 1968, with D.B.M. Patnaik as its Convenor. In 1969, the CoordinationCommittee was dissolved and the different regions of the state were attached to the Naxalite organizations ofthe neighbouring states. Thus, the Koraput and Ganjam districts of South Orissa were put under thejurisdiction of the Srikakulam regional committee in Andhra Pradesh, while Mayurbhanj and Balasore districtsof North Orissa were linked to the West Bengal coordination committee. The Sambhalpur and Sundergarh districtsof North West Orissa were attached to the South Bihar committee.
Over the years, as the Naxalite groups intensified their activities in the neighbouring states, theyincreasingly began using territories in Orissa for hideouts, maintenance of training camps and the recruitmentof tribals into their cadres. For some time now, Naxalite groups have been attempting to form a corridor ofstrongholds running through Chhattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Bihar and West Bengal, up to SouthNepal.