ANANTAPUR: As suspected, an exchange of fire between the Maoists and the police conducting combing operations in the Bukkapatnam forest area around dusk on Friday culminated in a major encounter on Saturday evening with two dalam commanders and two dalam members being killed.

The police stated that one of the victims was identified as commander of Penukonda dalam Rammohan Reddy alias Sridhar. One of the remaining three was being suspected as commander of Penna Area dalam Gangaram. It is also being suspected that another key member Kranti alias Dam Satti was also among the killed.

They were killed in an exchange of fire with a special police party conducting combing operation in the surroundings of Chandamur village in Chennekothapalli mandal. The police stated that the exchange of fire was still continuing.

Screams of women

The police further stated that the police were conducting combing operations with the help of an aerial support (search) by a helicopter at the time of the encounter.

The background to the encounter killings was an exchange of fire between a special party of the police conducting combing operations in the surroundings of Elukuntla village of Dharmavaram mandal and Siddirampuram village of Bukkapatnam mandal and Maddileru platoon on Friday evening.

However, the Maoists had succeeded in escaping in the wild by scaling hillocks, cover up teams continued the fire on the police party. The exchange of fire continued for about half-an-hour. The police team could not venture into the forest further as it had become dark by the time the crossfire had stopped and also due to drizzling.

The police suspected that whole of Maddileru platoon consisting 16 members and more than a dozen other Maoists, including the Penna Area dalam commander Gangaram alias Kranti, could have met in the forest.

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