The Odisha police scored a major success in their anti-Naxal operations when four CPI (Maoist) cadres were gunned down in Kandhamal district on Sunday.
On a tip-off, personnel of the Special Operation Group (SOG), an anti-Naxal force, and the District Voluntary Force (DVF), a special constabulary unit of the State police, rushed to a forest area of the Sirla gram panchayat under the Tumudibandh police limits of Kandhamal early on Sunday.
“There was an exchange of fire between Maoists and SOG and DVF near Tumudibandh. The security forces were fired upon and they fired back in self defence. There were four casualties on Maoist side. Some of them were injured. Combing operations were going on in the area,” said Director-General of Police Abhay.
The fierce encounter was detailed in a press release which stated: “During a search operation, the police party saw a large group of Maoists camping in the jungle area. The police party tried to approach them but suddenly heavy fire came from the side of Maoists. The police party gave their identity and asked the Maoists to surrender but they paid no heed. They were continuously firing from sophisticated automatic weapons and also lobbing grenades. Due to this, some police personnel also got injured. When police party fired in self defence, the Maoists fired for some more time and finally they escaped taking cover of dense jungle conditions (sic).”
Bodies of four Maoists, two men and two women from the BGN (Bansadhara-Ghumusara-Nagabali) division of the outlawed CPI- Maoist were found after the firing had died down and the police launched a search operation.
The identity of dead Maoists is being verified.
The police also recovered six sophisticated weapons and improvised explosive devices, or IEDs.
