Four Maoists, including two women cadre, belonging to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) were killed on January 18 in two separate encounters with security forces on either side of insurgency-hit Telangana-Chhattisgarh border.
Among the dead was Munni, an area committee member from the Darbha divisional committee who was carrying a reward of ₹5 lakh on her head. During the two operations, a Greyhound commando of the Telangana police also received bullet injuries. He was airlifted to Hyderabad after being treated initially at Warangal. Police sources said he was out of danger and that his condition was stable.
While the first encounter occurred around 7 a.m. in the Karriguttalu-Semaldodi-Penagolu forest area, the second skirmish took place approximately an hour later in the Marjum forests along the Dantewada-Sukma-Bastar inter-district border area.
According to police sources, personnel belonging to the Chattisgarh State Police, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Greyhounds launched a joint operation in Mulugu (Telangana) and Bijapur (Chattisgarh) districts in the early hours of January 18 based on reliable information about a large gathering of Telangana State Committee Maoists including divisional committee member Sudhakar and his other associates in the Chhattisgarh-Telangana inter-State border area. An exchange of fire between the cadre of the banned organisation and the security forces took place in the Karriguttalu-Semaldodi-Penagolu forest area.
The police forces recovered the bodies of three naxalites, including one female Maoist, during combing and search operations after the encounter. The police said initially that at least four Maoist cadres had “been neutralised in the encounter, with several more naxals sustaining serious injuries”. However, only three bodies were recovered. The forces also recovered a self-loading rifle, an INSAS rifle, a single bore weapon, 10 rocket launchers and other articles from the site.
At around half past eight the same morning, there was an exchange of fire between Maoists and personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and CRPF in the insurgency-hit Dantewada-Sukma-Bastar inter-district border area. The security forces recovered the body of Munni, an area committee member from the Darbha divisional committee, near the Marjum jungle during combing operations after the encounter.
Police sources told Frontline over the telephone that the security forces had launched search and combing operations at both the encounter sites.
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