Bhubaneswar: Stepping up the hunt for Maoist leader Sabyasachi Panda, suspected to be injured during an encounter on November 14 but managed to escape, Odisha Police on Saturday sealed all exit routes from jungles in the tri-junction of Gajapati-Ganjam and Kandhamal districts.
"We suspect that Panda or some other ultras might have sustained injuries during the operation," Southern range DIG RK Sharma told reporters at Mohana in Gajapati district.
"Our personnel are keeping a watch on all the exit points from the jungles in the tri-junction area," Sharma said.
"The police have warned all health centres to inform police if they arrive for treatment," said Sharma, who reviewed the situation with the SPs of Ganjam and Gajapati districts and a DIG rank officer of the CRPF at Mohana.
The police also pasted posters of Panda at public places announcing a reward for information leading to arrest of the Maoist leader.
Panda escaped during an encounter on Wednesday when five Maoists were killed.
Panda, for whom the Odisha government had announced a reward of Rs 20 lakh, was allegedly involved in the killing of the VHP leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati which sparked a communal riot in Kandhamal district in 2008.
Panda also abducted two Italian nationals in March from the Ganjam-Kandhamal border when they were on a trekking expedition.
PTI
