The Hindu : National : 17 Maoists killed in encounter

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Wednesday, Mar 19, 2008
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National

17 Maoists killed in encounter

D. Chandra Bhaskar Rao

PAMEDU (Chhattisgarh): Dispelling the notion of impregnability of Bastar forests, security forces managed to inflict a stunning blow to Maoist rebels, when they carried out precision raids and shot dead as many as 17 rebels in one of the biggest counter-insurgency operations in recent times in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday morning.

Police recovered weapons including an AK-47, three Self Loading Rifles (SLRs), landmines and many single shot weapons during two spells of the ambushes in Darelli forest of Pamedu police station falling in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.

There were seven women among the slain Maoists. The fact that the security forces suffered no casualties spoke of the precision of the raids and perfect coordination among different police agencies of the two States, police officers said.

A top Maoist leader from Andhra Pradesh and four squad commanders of Khammam district were believed to be among those slain.

Fierce gun battle

The fierce gun battle, in which the security forces apparently seized the initiative, took place about ten kilometres from Andhra Pradesh border and the Maoists believed to be attending a plenum meeting were obviously taken by surprise.

The police said more than 500 shots were fired on both sides in two spells — one at 9 a.m. and another four hours later.

Some 13 were killed in the first spell of gun battle while the other four fell to police bullets in the second assault. While firing ceased around 2 p.m., security forces were still combing the area, in the belief that more naxal squads could be found. Police contingents from Khammam in Andhra Pradesh and Bijapur in Chhattisgarh were inching their way to the scene of exchange of fire.

Security has been further tightened on the A.P.-Chhattisgarh border and also in the villages on either side of the border.

Retrieval of bodies

The Tuesday assault, stated as a turning point in counter-insurgency operations in Chhattisgarh, was taken up after the police conducted an aerial survey of the forests on the inter-State border last week following intelligence inputs about the Maoist gathering.

More than 60 Maoists were reportedly attending the plenum while some militants were guarding the place, when police carried out the raid.

Khammam Superintendent of Police D.S. Chauhan confirmed that those killed in the encounter were mostly from Khammam district. He said operations were on for retrieval of the bodies as well as the search for those who managed to escape.

Incidentally, 16 policemen were ambushed and mowed down in automatic gunfire, after a police team on its way to Pamed police station literally walked into the deadly trap laid by the rebels in the same jungles on November 2, 2007.

Only five policemen managed to escape from the rebels who used light machine guns and mortars in the ambush.

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