14 killed in Maoist attack on Nalco mine in Orissa (Second lead)
April 13th, 2009 - 1:40 pm ICT by IANSBhubaneswar, April 13 (IANS) At least 10 security personnel and four Maoist rebels were killed in a gun battle at a mine owned by the National Aluminium Company Ltd (NALCO) in Orissa’s Koraput district, police said Monday.
The incident took place Sunday night when over 100 armed rebels laid siege to the bauxite mine at Panchpatmali, some 370 km from here.
The guerrillas also attacked a Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) camp meant to guard a depot where a large quantity of explosives was stored.
“The number of CISF jawans killed is 10 and the number of Maoists killed is four. At least 13 people were injured,” district police Chief Deepak Kumar told IANS.
“Maoists could have targeted the mine for seizing explosives stored there for mining operations,” said an official of the public-sector firm NALCO.
NALCO is Asia’s largest integrated aluminium producer. The bauxite from its
Panchpatmali mine feeds the refinery at Damanjodi town nearby.
The company official said the Maoists attacked the mine at about 9.30 p.m. as the night shift was drawing to an end. The 60 night shift workers were stuck at the mine till the end of the gunbattle.
“The mining work in the unit has been stopped Monday,” the official said.
“We are not bothered about mining at this moment. The mining activities will start only after police have checked the area thoroughly. The Maoists may have laid land mines in different places,” Nalco chairman C.R. Pradhan told IANS.
Maoists are active in more than half of Orissa’s 30 districts. They have called for a boycott of the Lok Sabha and assembly elections that are to be held simultaneously April 16 and 23.
There have been several Maoist attacks in the state in the past few weeks.
The rebels killed Somnath Madkami, the Samrudha Odisha party’s candidate for the Malkangiri assembly constituency, last week. They also blew up several mobile towers in the same district.
- 11 killed in Maoist attack at Orissa aluminium mine (Lead) - Apr 13, 2009
- Security forces engage Maoists in gun battle after mine attack - Apr 14, 2009
- Nalco to miss alumina production target - Feb 23, 2011
- Maoist held for Nalco mine attack - Apr 26, 2009
- Panchpatmali mine restarts operations after Maoist attack - Apr 22, 2009
- 11 killed in Maoist attack in Orissa - Apr 13, 2009
- Maoists attack CISF camp in Orissa - Apr 13, 2009
- Nalco's Orissa mine production drops after Maoist attack - May 05, 2009
- NALCO to resume full-capacity bauxite production at Orissa mine - May 12, 2009
- Security strenghtened at NALCO mine after Maoist threat - Aug 12, 2009
- NALCO gets green nod for bauxite mining - Jul 25, 2011
- NALCO ups security at bauxite mines - Jul 17, 2009
- NALCO to expand capacity at Orissa unit - Apr 25, 2011
- NALCO gets state government nod for new bauxite mine - Mar 02, 2010
- 15 held with huge cache of arms in Orissa - Nov 30, 2009
Tags: aluminium producer, assembly elections, central industrial security, central industrial security force cisf, deepak kumar, district police, guerrillas, gun battle, gunbattle, land mines, Lok Sabha, maoist, maoist rebels, maoists, mobile towers, national aluminium company, night shift workers, orissa, security force, security personnel
