Image used for presentation. (Awakening)
Agency, Bhubaneswar. There was an encounter between police and Maoists late on Wednesday night in Gumma forest of Belghar police station area. Three Maoists, including a woman cadre, have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Odisha's Kandhamal district, police said on Thursday.
The two male Naxalites have been identified as CPI (Maoist) area committee member Bari alias Rakesh and Dalam member Amrit, both hailing from Chhattisgarh, a senior police officer said. He told that there was a total reward of Rs 23.65 lakh on both of them.
He said that on Thursday morning, the body of another woman cadre was recovered from near the encounter site, whose identity is yet to be ascertained.
According to the information received, a small mobile team of SOG (Special Operation Group) of Odisha Police started a search operation in the forest when they encountered the Maoists.
He said that during the encounter there was heavy firing from both sides, in which the Maoists were killed. The bodies of two male cadres were immediately recovered, while the body of another female Naxalite was later found some distance away. Police seized a revolver, a .303 rifle and a walkie-talkie set.
There has been no casualty on the side of the security forces in this encounter and the search operation has been intensified in the area. The encounter took place a day after 22 Maoists surrendered before Odisha DGP YB Khurana in neighboring Malkangiri district.
With inputs from news agency PTI.