Odisha: Five Maoists, including a woman, killed in encounter
(PTI desk)
At least five Maoists, including a woman, were gunned down in an exchange of fire with security personnel in a forest in Malkangiri district of Odisha today, a senior police official said. He said the casualty is expected to be more as search operation in the area is still on. However, no security personnel was injured in the operation, the official confirmed.
Spot-recovery: INSAS rifles, one SLR, one 303 rifle, hand grenade
The gun battle took place near Paplur area under the jurisdiction of Kalimela police station, when Special Operation Group (SOG) personnel were conducting a combing operation, Director General of Police, RP Sharma said. The security personnel recovered two INSAS rifles, one SLR, one 303 rifle and a hand grenade from the spot, he said. Efforts were on to ascertain the identity of deceased rebels.
Hunt on for Maoists who escaped during the battle
Additional DGP (Operations) RP Koche said efforts were on to track other rebels who ran away from the area during the gun battle. Two teams of SOG have been conducting a combing operation since Sunday and they spotted a group of Maoists in the jungle. After noticing the security personnel, the Maoists fired and the SOG jawans retaliated leading to the encounter, police said.
