According to Bastar Inspector General of Police R K Vij, more than 300 heavily-armed Naxalites stormed into the Essar plant near Kirandul, about 350 km from here, last night and wreaked havoc in the facilities by damaging vehicles and machines.

The steel major supplies high iron ore from its 8 million tonne per annum (mtpa) iron ore beneficiation plant near Kirandul to the pellet plant in Visakhapatnam. The iron ore slurry is pumped through a 267 km pipeline (the second longest in the world) to the pellet plant.

Sources said rebels overpowered the employees working in the plant and snatched away their mobile phones to plug off the communication network. Then they removed diesel from the vehicles and used it to set more than 53 trucks parked in the facility, on fire. One tanker and three heavy machines were also damaged in the fire.

The Naxalites stayed in the facility till the wee hours before slipping into the adjoining forests. The police could get the information about the incident only today morning.

The exact reason behind the attack could not be established. But sources said the rebels had left pamphlets in the plant stating that the attack was to protest the transportation of iron ore from the state.

This was the first major attack on the Essar plant that was set up about four years ago. The company is also coming up with a 3.2 mtpa steel plant in the area. However, this is the second major Naxal attack on industrial facilities in the state within a month.