HYDERABAD, 22 October — An outlawed leftist rebel group bombed a Coca-Cola bottling plant yesterday and said the attack was to protest US-led strikes on Afghanistan.
No one was injured in the early morning blast at Atmakuru near the coastal city of Vijayawada in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, police said. Police said the rebels left a note at the scene warning of further attacks against other Western companies in the coastal state.
“We have found a note in Telugu language which said the attacks were against American imperialism and the US attacks in Afghanistan,” Guntur police chief, Vinay Ranjan Ray, told the Aaj Tak television network.
Police have stepped up security at other multinational sites in the state. “We are also intensifying a crackdown to track down these people,” Ray said.
Police had earlier said it was not clear if the attack was related to the US-led assault on Afghanistan’s ruling Taleban.
They said the rebels had also called for a general strike in Andhra Pradesh today.
“In the note PWG also said it is calling a statewide bandh (general strike) to express solidarity with the Afghan people,” the official said.
A statement from Coca-Cola India said the attackers arrived by jeep and motorbike and locked up security guards in a room before bombing the boiler plant, the administrative building and the vehicle parking area.
The Maoists tried to destroy the production unit of the factory but failed, it added.
No one was injured in the raid. Three cars belonging to the company were also destroyed by the blasts.
