Over 100 Maoists here today torched 26 vehicles including water tanks belonging to a contractor in Dhanora taluka of the district, police said.
The incident took place on the Lekha-Godalwahi road in Dhanora taluka around 9 km from a local police station.
Police said about 100 to 150 Naxals torched 19 tractors, 2 trucks, 2 water tanks, 1 JCB machine and 2 motorcycles, all of which belong to a private contractor who was engaged in road construction work. They took out fuel from some of the vehicles and poured the same on them.
The Naxals are opposed to building of roads in the area and destroyed the vehicles to spread fear among contractors taking up the road work, according to sources.
After burning down the vehicles in presence of labourers working on the road project, the outlaws fled. The labourers were not harmed in the incident.
This was the first such incident in the district when the Maoists destroyed vehicles in such a large number.
Emerging story. Watch this space for updates as more details come in
© Copyright PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of any PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without their prior written consent.