Bhubaneshwar:
The state police of Orissa are busy looking for clues after Friday's rampage. But Friday night's naxalite attack shouldn't have caught the Orissa police off guard.
Three months ago, a mid-level Maoist leader, arrested in Jharkhand had told the police about a plan to rob the district armoury, just a few hundred kilometers from Nayagarh.
Yet, this attack could not be prevented.
",It was unexpected because Nayagarh was never known for any Maoist activity,", said Gopal Nanda, DGP, Orissa.
There are other problems besetting the state. The guards at the armoury didn't put up much of a fight, perhaps because they lacked the skills.
Training for new police recruits in Orissa is now down from one year to just three months. In the past two years, Orissa has got nearly 50 crore rupees to upgrade and train its police force but only half of this has been spent.
Moreover, more than 10,000 police jobs are yet to be filled, while the number of Maoists killed has halved.
Friday night's attack is particularly shocking for two reasons. One because it was so close to the state capital and second, despite sufficient warning the state could not prevent it.
Next week officials from Orissa will be in Delhi to explain themselves to the home ministry.