A Maoist was arrested from the Panchakudi forest under the Kalyansinghpur police station in Rayagada district after an exchange of fire between the SOG forces and the ultras in the wee hours of Tuesday, said Rayagada SP Rajesh Pandit here.
The police force got information about the movement of 25 to 20 Maoists under the leadership of Bunty and Indu in the area where the SOG forces were taking rest after a combing operation, said the SP.
At around 2 am, the sentry found from the night vision device that the Maoists were coming towards them. The Maoists flashed torch lights on SOG force and started taking positions.
The SOG force warned them to surrender, but the ultras started firing at the SOG force, which then retaliated. The firing went on for a few minutes and ultimately the Maoists fled from the spot.
At about 4.30 am, the force searched the area and found Maoist Paraya Kutruka (34) of Toyaput village who had splinter injuries in his thigh due to a recent fire exchange. The SOG force immediately moved back from the area after informing the DVF members who were operating in the area and shifted the injured Maoist to the district hospital at Rayagada.
The DVF party intensively searched the area and busted a Maoist camp at Tebhapada, only 1 km from the place where the incident had occurred. The DVF recovered items like a nine-mm pistol, magazine pouch, an olive green uniform, a live landmine with detonator, two gelatin sticks, three empty cases of SlR with charger, Maoist banners of the Kashipur-Niyamagiri Area Committee, medicines, Maoist literatures, two torches and a steel container from the camp.
From another source, it is alleged that the police force, by mistake, opened fire on a group of tribals who were on their way for traditional hunting. The sources questioned that what Paraya was doing alone in the jungle. If he had the injury caused by the firing of the SOG force in 2 pm, why did he alone wait until 4.30 am for the DVF to arriveIJ Why was Paraya not primarily treated in Kalyansinghpur PHC and brought to the district headquarters hospital at Rayagada which is almost 50 km away from Kalyansinghpur, alleged the sources.
Generally the Maoists do not leave an injured fellow comrade to his providence when there is a considerable gap between the firing and the search operation. In this case the gap was two to three hours, but the SP refuted all these assumptions.