Friday, January 21 2005 14:33 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Hyderabad: Maoist naxalites set ablaze a telephone exchange in Mehboobnagar district in the wee hours today (Jan 21, 2005), police said.

About ten armed naxalites entered the small telephone exchange in Devarkadra area and after threatening the security guards poured diesel and torched the equipment, Superintendent of Police Vikram Singh Mann told reporters on phone.

Communication links to about half a dozen villages have been disrupted due to the incident, he said.

"This was a peaceful area and no naxal activities were reported for the last three years. It is a matter of concern now that they have targetted and extended their activities in the peaceful areas," Mann said.

"The situation was alarming as they are now freely moving with weapons in peaceful areas," the official said.

The loss in the fire incident was estimated at about Rs 3 lakh and P&T department was restoring the damaged links, Mann said.