970401

2 constables

die in Indian

maoists blast

HYDERABAD (India): Maoist guerrillas blew up a police station in the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh on Monday and shot dead two constables, police said.

They said armed rebels of the outlawed People's War Group (PWG) blasted the police station at Yacharam in the Ranga Reddy district in a pre-dawn attack.

The PWG, which controls large forest tracts straddling the neighbouring states of Madhya Pradesh, Orissa and Maharashtra had called a strike on Monday in Telangana, their stronghold in Andhra Pradesh.

The strike was planned to protest against the killing of a large number of PWG guerrillas by police in recent weeks, police said.-Reuter