"We have included Porahat forest division under our ongoing anti-naxal operation "Anaconda II", DIG (Kohan) Arun Kumar Singh told newsmen when asked whether the district police had expanded its anti-naxal operation beyond Saranda.
Asked whether the district administration has any plan to deploy permanent security personnel in Porahat, where the Maoists had torched about 18 vehicles engaged in construction work in November last, Singh said it was not possible to deploy security personnel in all places but combing operation had been launched in the region on regular basis.
Singh, flanked by Senior Superintendent of Police, Akhilesh Kumar Jha, admitted that the Maoists activities have not been completely wiped out from Saranda, Asia's largest sal forest considered to be safe ground for the rebels till the security personnel had disbanded them in a week-long massive operation last year.
"I do not want to claim that the Maoists' activities were completely wiped out in Saranda but it was curtailed owing to the mounting pressure from the security personnel," Singh said.
The continuous anti-naxal operation has weakened the Maoists, who were now grouping in Saranda only before executing any plan, he said.
Referring to the recent encounter in Latehar where support from across the border to the ultra outfit was detected, Singh said no foreign arms and ammunition were seized from the Maoists in West Singhbhum during the anti-naxal operation.