Andhra Pradesh   

Two Maoists killed in A.P. encounter

Staff Reporter

KHAMMAM: Khammam District Committee secretary (DCS) of the CPI (Maoist) Jagadeesh was suspected to be among the two naxalites killed in an encounter with the police in the Edugurallapalli forests, 3 km from Chintoor, around 2.30 p.m. on Wednesday. A 9 mm pistol was recovered from the spot.

According to reports, a Maoist dalam ran into a combing party of the APSP when the latter was on routine culvert checking in the forest route. The naxalites opened fire at the sight of the police resulting in the encounter, which left two of them killed on the spot.

Police sources said that the special party, which belonged to the Edugurallapalli AOP, had been scouting the wild for the past few days in view of the spurt in the movement of the Maoist dalams across the inter-state border with Chhattisgarh. They took up a through check-up of the forest tracts, especially the culverts for land mines. The Maoist dalam was said to be camping a few kilometres away from the APSP outpost.

The encounter lasted for nearly 20 minutes. The Maoists resorted to heavy firing to keep away the combing party, which chased them for a distance.

Sources said that one of the naxalites killed in the encounter was Vangara Rambabu alias Jagadeesh alias Suresh alias Devender, 35, who was elevated to the post of the party District Committee secretary a few months ago. He belonged to Beerelli village of Tadwai mandal in Warangal district.

Superintendent of Police Rajiv Kumar Meena, however, said that the naxalites killed in the encounter were yet to be identified. The bodies were being brought to Chintoor.

The killing of two top leaders within a week was viewed as a severe blow to the CPI (Maoist) in Khammam district.

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