An exchange of fire took place between security personnel and Maoists in the forests of Mara and Atul under the Barkote police limits in Deogarh district on Thursday morning, informed Deogarh SP Sarah Sharma. The exchange of fire took place at around 11 am while joint forces, consisting of personnel from Deogarh police, CRPF and District Voluntary Force (DVF), were conducting combing operations in Mara, Atula and Khunta forests.
The SP claimed that the security personnel destroyed a Maoist camp in the jungle. The Maoists were holding a camp in forest area to observe protest week. Acting on a tip-off, the security personnel started a combing operation in the forest where the gun battle took place. later, security personnel seized several articles from the Maoist camp after destroying it.
In a separate incident, the Maoists in Malkangiri district killed a tribal man suspecting him to be a police informer at Chintamchilika as the rebels began a 'protest week' from July 1 demanding halt to anti-Naxal operations by security forces.