JOIN US24 Maoists killed in encounter on Odisha border
As many as 24 Maoists were killed in an encounter in Malkangiri district of Odisha along the Andhra Pradesh border during the early hours on Monday.
According to the police, the encounter took place when Greyhound commandos stormed a Maoists’ gathering near Ramgurha forest area between Ramgarh and Panasput in the district.
A large cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.
According to Andhra Pradesh Director General of Police Nanduri Sambasiva Rao, 25 Maoists had gathered for a plenary session deep in the forest near the border. “The Greyhounds along with the Odisha Police were on a joint combing operation. There was an exchange of fire, during which 24 Maoists, including women, were killed. Two Greyhound commandos were also injured,” he said.
The police said combing operations are on. “The presence of four AK-47 assault rifles, two self-loading rifles and two Insas rifles indicate that senior Maoist leaders were present during the encounter. We are yet to identify all the Maoists killed in the operation,” Visakhapatnam Superintendent of Police Rahul Dev Sharma said. He also said the injured commandos were air-dashed to King George Hospital in Visakhapatnam.
Top Maoist leaders Gajarla Ravi alias Uday and Bakuri Venkata Ramana alias Ganesh were killed, the police said. It is said that Ravi was the mastermind behind the Alipiri blast targeting Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu in 2003. He also participated in the peace talks with the Y S Rajasekhara Reddy government.
The police said another leader Rama Krishna escaped the attack. However, his grandson, Munna, who recently joined the outlawed outfit, is feared dead.
Meanwhile, the Telangana Democratic Forum (TDF) and Revolutionary Writers Forum termed the encounter fake and condemned the killing.
“We demand a judicial enquiry into the encounter. We believe that the police have been using Israeli drones to detect and eliminate Maoists. We want the police to reveal the faces of all the Maoists, including those they claimed to have killed, and provide medical aid to the injured leaders,” Maoist emissary and revolutionary writer Varavara Rao said. He also demanded that a case be registered.
The TDF, on the other hand, blamed the Naidu government for the encounter. “The encounter portrays the fascist and inhuman rule of Chandrababu Naidu in Andhra Pradesh,” read a joint statement by TDF leader Prof Haragopal and Justice (Retd) Chandrakumar, among others.
Regrouping worries
The encounter has once against brought to the fore doubts whether the extremists are regrouping in the region after a lull in their activities, DHNS adds from New Delhi.
Maoists have been active along the border in the past. But sustained police action and government intervention had brought down their influence in the region.
The killing of top Maoist commanders is also viewed by the security establishment as a blow to the insurgents.
The ultras are already facing a leadership vacuum and the elimination of two of their commanders has only added to their woes.
Official sources believe that Maoists were conducting training camps in the area.
Though the numbers have decreased over the years, sources said, security agencies are looking at whether there is a spurt in Maoist activities in the region. Andhra Pradesh and Odisha together have witnessed 940 violent incidents since 2011, during which 272 people have lost their lives.
According to official statistics, Odisha alone has witnessed 723 Maoist incidents since 2011. Till September 15 this year, there were 64 such incidents, in which 18 people were killed. During the same period last year, there were 65 incidents, in which 18 lost their lives.
Andhra Pradesh recorded 217 incidents in the past five years, in which 67 people were killed. Till mid-September this year, there were 15 incidents and six people were killed, while in the same period last year, there were 22 such incidents and seven deaths.
The figures also showed that the number of incidents and casualties are decreasing over the years.