On the second day of the combing operation in the Patrapalli-Jharbahali forests under the Ullunda police station on Wednesday, the security forces failed to trace the dead body of the two Maoists who were reportedly killed in an exchange of fire during a combing operation in the forests on Tuesday.
Subarnapur district SP Niti Sekhar, who on Wednesday joined the combing operation, said, “Though we did not trace the dead bodies, we are sure that two Maoists were killed and many other ultras were injured in the Tuesday encounter.”
He said the combing operation would continue in the area for a few days. On Tuesday, on a tip-off that Maoists active in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand had set up many camps in the area, Special Operation Group (SOG) and CRPF jawans with the help of the local police and District Voluntary Force had launched a combing operation in the area when they encountered retaliation. However, the ultras succeeded in retreating into the forests. The security forces had seized arms including an SlR, four rifles, a hand grenade and a pistol from the spot. An SOG jawan was also injured.