Police and CRPF personnel destroyed a Maoist camp in a gun battle with the Red rebels near Rourkela on Saturday night.
In the joint operation by the Rourkela police and CRPF personnel at the lunga forest in Mahulpada, some dreaded Maoists belonging to the Sagar gang were suspected to have been injured. Over 20 Maoists managed to flee from the camp during the encounter that lasted around half an hour.
Police seized 200 live bullets, explosives and Maoist items from the spot.
The security personnel acted on a tipoff that Maoist camps were being operated by around 25 militants of the CPI(Maoist)’s central committee member Sagar gang at lunga, Taladihi, Kunu and Dhokamunda forests.
“The Maoist camps have been traced in several forests near Rourkela. We have seized huge quantities of explosives, ammunition, dress kits and other items from the camp. The operation is underway,” said Western Range IG RK Sharma.