Family members of some deceased Maoists, who were killed in a joint encounter carried out by the Odisha and Andhra Pradesh police in the cutoff Chitrakonda area in Malkangiri district on Monday, took the bodies of their kin on Wednesday.
The family members of 10 dead Maoists, who belong to Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, along with revolutionary poet Varavara Rao, came to the Malkangiri SP office to receive the bodies. Besides, wife of top Maoist leader RK alias Ramakrishna also came to receive the body of their son Muna, who was also killed in the encounter along with 27 others.
Disputing the police claim that Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire, RK’s wife said it was a deliberate attack during a Maoist meeting. Similarly, Varavara Rao also condemned the police action and termed it as a “culpable homicide” on the part of the security forces.
Meanwhile, four more dead bodies, which were found during a search operation on Tuesday, were also brought to Malkangiri on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, IG Operation RP Koche and South-Western Range DIG S Saini visited the Maoist-prone district and reviewed the situation at the Malkangiri SP office.
Home Secretary Asit Tripathy said 18 bodies of the 28 deceased Maoists have been identified so far.
“Following the killing of 28 Maoists in the encounter, there is a possibility of retaliation by the leftwing ultras. Hence, as a precautionary move, instructions have been given to the Central forces, the CRPF and its special CoBRA Battalion and the BSF, and the Special Operation Group (SOG) of the Odisha police in undivided Koraput and Kalahandi districts to remain on high alert,” said Tripathy.
He said most of the slain Maoists were the State committee members belonging to the Ramakrishna alias RK group.