Nagpur, Mar 15 (UNI) The police machinery in six naxalite-affected districts of Maharashtra was put on alert today after the Maoist attack on a police camp in Dantewada district of neighbouring Chhattisgarh.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Anti-Naxalite Operations (ANO) Pankaj Gupta told UNI that an alert was sounded in Gadchiroli, Chandrapur, Bhandara, Gondia and Yavatmal districts in Vidarbha region and Nanded district in Marathwada region of Maharashtra immediately after the attack in Chhattisgarh this morning.

All police stations and police outposts in the six districts had been put on alert, Mr Gupta said, adding that the Superintendents of Police (SPs) in these districts were instructed to review the situation and take necessary steps.

''We are taking extra precaution in view of the possibility that a similar attack may take place in Maharashtra and that the Maoists, involved in the attack in Dantewada, may flee into the state,'' the IG said.

The Chhattisgarh police suspect that the Maoists, who attacked the police camp in Chhattisgarh, may flee towards Bhamragadh and Besalipedha in Gadchiroli district, Mr Gupta said.

The Maharashtra police are extending all co-operation to their counterparts in Chhattisgarh in connection with the investigation into the attack, he added.

UNI