Five Maoists killed in encounter in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district

In a major intelligence-guided operation, five Maoists including two women were gunned down in a big encounter with the police and security forces in the deep forests of Khobramendha-Hetalkasa in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Monday.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition were seized from them during the operation at Kurkheda tehsil of Gadchiroli that borders Chhattisgarh.

The operation was led by the C-60 commandos of the Anti-Naxal Operations (ANO) of the Maharashtra police.

“Five Naxals were killed in the encounter,” said Sandeep Patil, the Deputy Inspector General of Gadchiroli Range.

Patil and Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal personally oversaw the operation.

“In yet another act of bravery C-60 commandos neutralized 5 Naxals in an encounter in Khobramendha-Hetalkasa forest area of the Gadchiroli district. The impeccable bravery shown by them is laudable. Congratulations to the team!!,” state Home Minister Anil Deshmukh tweeted.

According to information reaching here, acting on a tip-off, a team of police and security forces undertook a combing operation and discovered the camp, where the encounter took place.

Around 60 to 70 ultras had opened fire on the C-60 commandos following which the security personnel retaliated. After firing from both sides for about an hour, the rebels had fled from the spot leaving behind their belongings. Five Maoists were found dead.

The incident comes close on the heels of a 48-hour operation on March 2 and March 4 when a successful Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) was carried out against the Naxalites along the Gadchiroli-Baster border. Then a C-60 team had busted an illegal arms and ammunition manufacturing unit.