2 Maoists killed, many other cadres injured in counter with security personnel in Odisha

By Suryanarayan Panda

Koraput, Nov. 11: At least two suspected Maoists were killed and a few others sustained injuries during an encounter with the security personnel in Odisha’s Koraput district on Thursday night.

According to Deputy Inspector General (DIG-southern-western range),  Rajesh Pandit, the encounter took place when the ultras opened fire on the security personnel during a joint combing operations by Special Operation Group (SOG) jawans and Border Security Force (BSF) in Malipadar, Atalguda and Badaliguda forests.

The bodies of the two slain radicals were brought to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHH) at Jeypore and autopsy was conducted.

“The bodies of the utras are yet to be identified. Autopsies of the bodies have been conducted. We were waiting for their relatives to come here and claim the bodies. If nobody turns up, the last rites of the rebels will be conducted as per the existing rules,” said the DIG Pandit.

The police seized three country-made guns, five detonators and Maoists literature from the encounter sites.

“We had concrete and definite intelligence inputs about the presence of the Maoists in the three forests. They were holding their camps for a few days now. As the combing parties approached them, they opened fire at them, forcing them to retaliate,” said the DIG.

Search operations were on to trace out the rebels who fled the camps taking advantage of the dead of the night, the senior cop.