Fierce encounter with Maoists in Orissa forest

KORAPUT: Several rounds were fired in a two-hour-long encounter between police and Maoists at a forest near Kondajam village in Maoist-dominated Rayagada district early on Monday. There was no report of casuaties. “Quite a few rebels were injured during the encounter,” said a police officer.

The encounter took place when a special action team of Red rebels, who included cadres from Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, came face to face with a team of SOG and CRPF.

Police said there were about 40 rebels. “All of them were speaking in Telegu and Hindi. The Maoists fired and we retaliated. The gunbattle lasted about two hours. The number of rounds fired will be known once our team returns from the spot,” a police source said.

Sure, some extremists were injured, for police saw drops of blood on the ground. They also came across certain items belonging to the Maoists. Police suspect some top rebel leaders were involved in the incident and they might have met to discuss strategies to carry out a major violence in the district.

In the past six months, over 40 Maoists have been arrested and seven extremists, including a rebel couple, have surrendered in Rayagada district. The Red rebels have even threatened to kill the Rayagada SP.

The frequent arrests, seizure of explosives and other weapons from Maoist hideouts and surrender of leaders has shaken the rebel organization in the district and the extremists must have assembled to prepare a blueprint for a backlash.

In another incident, Narayanpatna in Koraput district remained cut-off from rest of the state on Monday as Maoists blocked its two connecting road by felling trees. Half a dozen of trees were felled at several places between Narayanpatna-Laxmipur and Narayanpatna-Bandhugaon, which brough traffic to a standstill in the hilly and heavily forested Narayanpatna block.

According to sources, rebels have put up posters near the blockades in which they have opposed the anti-Naxalite CoBRA battalion and deployment of paramilitary forces. They are also against the Santi Committee that is opposing the Maoist-backed Chasi Muliya Adivasi Sangh, which is forcibly occupying non-tribal lands in the area. In August, Narayanpatna had remaned cut-off from rest of the state for over a week following a Maoist blockade. TOI