Bhubaneswar: A day after an encounter took place between Maoists and security forces in Nalikumbha forest of Boudh district, the Odisha Police on Friday intensified its search operation there, engaging over 300 jawans of a special squad, senior officers said.
The operation was launched in the forest, following the gun battle between red rebels and security personnel on Thursday, he said.
“An initial report says that police have recovered explosive materials and Maoist uniforms from the forest where red rebels took shelter,” DGP SK Bansal said, adding that he was expecting a final report this evening.
Twelve companies of the Special Operation Group (SOG) with more than 300 jawans and the district voluntary force (DVF) were engaged in the search operation in the forest, another police officer said.
The Nalikumbha forest was surrounded by police personnel from all sides to ensure that no Maosist can escape from there, he said.
"Movement of jawans in the forest has been slow as they are taking safety measures against improvised explosive devices and landmines which might have been planted by Maoists,' he said.
According to ADG (Operation) Dev Datta Singh, the encounter between the security personnel and Maoists continued till Thursday evening at Nalikumbha forest. However, there was no report of any injury.
Meanwhile, at least two members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) have surrendered before the police in the presence of the DGP who was on a tour to Kandhamal district on Thursday.
The surrendered Maoists - Ranjit Naitam and Unga Poyam - hail from neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
The two had been associated with the Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division of the CPI (Maoist) since 2017 and were involved in several violent activities, the DGP said.
Published 15 December 2023, 11:11 IST