BHUBANESWAR/VISAKHAPATNAM: Twenty three Maoists were gunned down in an exchange of fire with the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha Police in Malkangiri forest area on the Andhra-Odisha border in the early hours today, a top police official here said.
According to AP Police, two constables of Greyhounds, an elite anti-Maoist force, were injured in the encounter that occurred during a routine combing operation being jointly carried out by police of both the states at Ramgurha in Malkangiri district of Odisha. The injured constables were shifted for treatment to Visakhapatnam by helicopter, the police official added.
“The operation spot comes under Chitrakonda police limits of Malkangiri. The joint operation was carried out in cut-off areas of Chitrakonda close to Andhra Pradesh border. We seized some weapons from the Maoists,” ADG (intelligence) of Odisha Arun Sarangi told TOI.
Sarangi said the blueprint of the operation was finalized two days ago. “We had tip-off about movement of the Maoists in the cut-off area. We informed the Andhra Pradesh police for assistance,” Sarangi said, adding “The bodies will be brought to Chitrakonda for identification and post-mortem.”
