Maoists blast police station in AP

In renewed violence in Andhra Pradesh, Maoists blasted a police station building and destroyed three wine shops in Prakasam district on Monday night.

Markapur Deputy Superintendent of Police Ranganath told rediff.com a group of 20 Maoists blasted the Tripuranthakam police station near the forests abutting Guntur district around 2245 IST using landmines.

"We were suspecting that the Maoists might attack this police station building since it was not fortified, it had no weapons and it was not sufficiently staffed. Hence, we had shifted to nearby Yerragondapalem a week ago."

The abandoned building was totally damaged.

Later, the Maoists destroyed three wine shops in the village, causing a loss of Rs two lakh, the DSP said.

This is the second attack by Maoists on a police station in the Nallamala forest belt. In a similar operation on March 11, the Maoists had attacked Chilakaluripet police station and police quarters in Guntur district, killing seven persons - four police personnel and three civilians.