Bhubaneswar, July 28 - Maoist guerrillas damaged the control rooms of two mobile telephone towers in Orissa's Malkangiri district Tuesday, marking the beginning of what they call their 'martyr's week', police said.

The control rooms were set on fire in Padmagiri village of Malkangiri, 620 km from state capital Bhubaneswar.

Charu Majumdar, founder of India's Maoist movement, had died in police custody this day in 1972. 'Martyr's week' is being observed by the guerrillas since then.

'The towers the Maoists have damaged belong to two private operators,' district Superintendent of Police Satyabrata Bhoi told IANS.

Fearing attacks, public transporters kept their vehicles off the roads Tuesday in Gajapati, Rayagada, Koraput and Malkangiri districts.