Nine Maoists killed in encounter in Orissa

BHUBANESWAR: At least nine Maoists, including four women cadres, were on Sunday gunned down in an encounter with the Orissa police in a densely forested area near Kashipur in Rayagada district, over 500 km from here.

Police said two of the slain militants were local area commanders. Acting on a tip off, a team of armed police led by deputy superintendent of police raided on Saturday a Maoist camp in dense forest at Bhamramali near Huma Jharan near Kashipur. The rebels, who were holding meeting reportedly under the leadership of Naxalite leader Azad, immediately retaliated by opening fire on the security personnel. This resulted in a fierce exchange of fire that continued till Sunday morning.

“After we got concrete intelligence reports about the meeting of the Maoists in the forests in near Kashipur, we asked the security personnel to conduct the raid operation. Bodies of nine rebels killed in the encounter have been seized. A few more rebels are suspected to have been injured in the encounter,” deputy general of police (south-western) Soumendra Priyadarshi said.

Police sent the bodies of the slain Maoists were sent to Rayagada district headquarters hospital for post-mortem. The police have seized huge cache of arms and ammunitions from the demolished camp.

Reports from Kandhamal said a fierce gun fight was going between the security personnel and the rebels at Kotagada. Kandhamal superintendent S. Praveen Kumar said additional force has been sent to the area for combing operation and to step up patrolling.

In yet another incident of Maoist violence, the rebels on Sunday blew up Bandhamunda railway signal post by near Rourkela by triggering explosion disrupting train services for over eight hours in the Chakradharpur-Rourkela and Rourkela-Hatia sections under the South Eastern Railway (SER).

According to police, the miscreants triggered the blast at the signalling and link cabins near the Bandhamunda station, resulting in damage of signalling panels and other vital telecommunication equipment.

In the posters recovered from the spot, the Maoists demanded the union government to stop the anti-Maoist operation Green Hunt and the release of Dr Binayak Sen.