Four Maoists were gunned down during an exchange of fire between the ultras and SOG personnel in a forest near Sirki village under the Belghar police limits of Kandhamal district on Wednesday.
The bodies of the Maoists were recovered and combing operation in the forest was underway, said sources.
On the basis of reliable intelligence inputs, an operation had been launched on the Kalahandi-Kandhamal border on Tuesday. Two composite teams of SOG and DVF personnel had participated in the operation.
The exchange of fire took place at around 11 am on Wednesday. Following heavy firing by the Maoists, a team of SOG and DVF resorted to retaliatory fire, said an official statement issued by the Odisha police. “The exchange of fire lasted for around 30 minutes, during which four Maoists were neutralised and a SOG jawan suffered injuries.
More teams of SOG, DVF and CRPF have been sent to the area for combing and search operation,” the statement added.
Notably, earlier on July 5, five Maoists, including two women, had been gunned down by security forces in Sirla Reserve Forest area under the Tumudibandha police limits indistrict followed by two more deaths in same forest on July 23.
On August 17, Maoists torched four vehicles, including a truck and a tractor, engaged in construction of a road at Kanjal Ghat in Balliguda of district.