3 Maoists killed in police encounter at Gadchiroli

NAGPUR: Three suspected Maoists, including a divisional committee member of the CPI (Maoist), were gunned down by the joint police force in a fierce encounter in

NAGPUR: Three suspected Maoists, including a divisional committee member of the CPI (Maoist), were gunned down by the joint police force in a fierce encounter in Katepalli jungle under Aheri tahsil of Gadchiroli, bordering Andhra Pradesh on Sunday.

HT Image

According to reports reaching here the divisional headquarters this evening, the skirmish took place when a group of ultra-left extremists challenged the joint anti-naxalite force of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh, patrolling in Kotepalli jungle area. The suspected Maoists resorted to indiscriminately firing at the security forces that led them to retaliate.

The Gadchiroli district superintendent of police, Abinav Deshmukh, said a joint team of Gadchiroli police and AP police was out on an anti-naxal operation since morning in the region, located some 175km from the district headquarters.

The three were identified as: Athram Shovan (31), a divisional committee member, Mukesh (25), a body of Dandyakaranya Special Zonal Committee member and Dinesh (18), a senior member of CPI (Maoist). Of them, Shovan was from Andhra Pradesh, while the remaining two were from Chhattisgarh, Deshmukh said.

Among the killed Maoists, Shovan was a “wanted Maoist” and an award of Rs16 lakh was on him. The police also seized arms and ammunition from the spot, including an AK-47, 303 rifles and Maoist literature.