Four women Maoists have been killed during an exchange of fire with security personnel in Narayanpatna area of Odisha’s Koraput district, the police said on Monday. Acting on a tip off, the District Voluntary Force (DVF) and Special Operations Group (SOG) personnel launched a joint combing operation last night in the forest areas of Narayanpatna, Director General of Police R P Sharma said. “As soon as the left-wing extremists saw security personnel approaching them, they opened fire. When the security forces retaliated, a fierce gun battle ensued between the two sides, leading to the death of four women cadres,” Sharma explained.
It appeared that 10 to 12 rebels of the Andhra-Odisha Special Zonal Committee of CPI (Maoist) were present at the site during the encounter, he said. “The bodies of three women cadres were recovered right after the encounter last night while another body was found in the forest this morning,” Sharma said, adding that four rifles, kit bags, land mine and some ammunition besides some naxal literature were recovered from the site. A massive search operation has been launched in the area following the gun battle and efforts are on to establish the identity of the slain rebels, suspected to be the area committee members of the banned outfit, the DGP asserted.
Describing the Koraput operation as a “major success,” the DGP said Sunday’s encounter comes two days after another Maoist cadre was gunned down by security personnel in Malkangiri district. Meanwhile, a CRPF jawan was on Monday injured in a Naxal ambush and IED blast in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, officials said. They said Maoists had set up a strong ambush in the jungles of Kondasawli-Jagargunda area in south Bastar district and troops of the 231st battalion of the force got engaged in it when they were undertaking an operation. A heavy exchange of gunfire took place between the two sides at about 9:30 am followed by an improvised explosive device (IED) blast, they said. “The Maoist ambush was successfully thwarted and a CRPF jawan suffered splinter injuries on his hand due to the impact of the IED explosion,” a senior official said.
The jawan has been evacuated for medical care to the nearby Dantewada district and a search operation is on the area, they said.
The Sukma district of the state is a Naxalite hotbed and nine men of the Central Reserve Police Force were killed and two others injured when Maosits trigerred a landmine blast underneath their armoured vehicle in the district on March 13.
The TCOC (tactical counter offensive campaign) of Naxals, when they launch daring attacks on forces and undertake strategic movements in these areas, is currently on.