In a second major encounter between Naxals and security persons within eight days, four Maoists, a policeman and two civilians were killed in Sindesur forest of Gadchiroli district in eastern Maharashtra.
Reports reaching the State police headquarters here said that a fierce gun-battle broke out between the commandos of the Anti-Naxal Squad (ANS) and Naxals holed up in the Sindesur forest located near Dahanora, a teshil town in Gadchiroli district, when the security personnel were in the midst of a combing operation.
According to reports, one of the Naxals — who spotted commandos from the ANS’ C-60 unit — fired at them first, prompting the security personnel to return the gun fire.
In the encounter that began at 11 am and continued for the next hour or so, four Maoists were gunned down, while a police constable Govinda Farkade (41) of Jairampur village of Gadchiroli district was killed.
Unfortunately, two civilians who — as preliminary reports suggest — had taken the security personnel to the forest — were killed in the encounter.
The four Maoists and two civilians killed in the encounter had not been notified till the evening, police said.
Having seized a Self loading Rifle (SlR), some weapons, ammunition and other Naxal-related pamphlets and propaganda material, the ANS commandos are continuing their search operation in Sindesur forest area.
In the earlier encounter reported on April 4, the ANS commandos had gunned down seven Maoists and inflicted injuries on several others in a jungle near Bhatpar village in Gadchiroli district of eastern Maharashtra, bordering Chhattisgarh.
Acting on a tip-off that Naxals were holding a secret meeting in a Bhatpar jungle in Bhamragad taluka of Gadchiroli district, three companies of ANS’ C-60 commandos had swooped on the place. In the gun-battle that followed, seven Naxals had been killed and several others injured.