Two commandos hurt in exchange of fire with Maoists in Odisha

The exchange of fire comes after a series of recoveries of arms and ammunitions of the Maoists in the state since January.

Published on: Jul 10, 2021, 18:30:35 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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Two commandos of Odisha’s anti-Maoist Special Operation Group (SOG) were injured in an exchange of fire with Maoists in a forest in the Kandhamal district on Saturday.

Odisha police chief Abhay, who uses one name, said they launched an operation in the area following intelligence inputs late on Friday night. During the search operation, Maoists fired and left the two commandos wounded.

“With the help of CRPF (Central Reserve Police Force) jawans, both the commandos were rescued and brought to safety from the operational area. The two security personnel have been airlifted to Bhubaneswar AIIMS (All India Institute of Medical Sciences) and they are stable,” said Abhay. He added some Maoists may have also been injured.

Police said some top Maoist leaders and cadres were part of the group that fired on the SOG personnel, and that Maoists used heavy ammunition.

The exchange of fire comes after a series of recoveries of arms and ammunitions of the Maoists in the state since January.

Last month, Rabindra, a member of Bolangir-Bargarh-Mahasamund Divisional Committee of Maoists, with ₹5 lakh reward money on him, was killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Bargarh.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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