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BHUBANESWAR: Four suspected Maoists, including three women, were shot dead by security personnel following an intense shooting in a forest in Kalahandi district on Wednesday. A Jawan from the Special Operations Group (SOG), the state police’s anti-Naxal force, was injured in the shooting.
The identity of the deceased was being investigated. “The exchange of shots occurred under the limits of the M.Rampur police in Kalahandi-Kandhamal border. Acting on intelligence, our staff (SOG and district volunteer force) had ventured into the woods on Tuesday to launch an operation. A group of Maoists, who had been camping in the jungle, opened fire on our staff. One of our jaws was injured in the shooting. Four Maoists have been neutralized in retaliation, ”Police Superintendent (Kalahandi) B Gangadhar told TOI.
Sources said the exchange of gunfire between the Maoists and the police occurred around 11 a.m. on Wednesday and continued for almost half an hour. The police confiscated two SLR rifles, three single-barreled rifles, some live ammunition and other items related to the Maoists from the Maoist camp.
This was the third major anti-Maoist operation in the state in the last two months. Five suspected Maoists, including two women, were shot dead in Kandhamal District July 5th. Two suspected left-wing extremists were again killed by security personnel in a forest in the Tumudibandha area of Kandhamal district on July 23.
Violence related to left extremism (LWE) has decreased significantly in the state in recent years. So far, at least 12 Maoists have been killed in different districts this year. Suspected Maoist casualties amounted to 19 in 2018 and 8 in 2019. Recently, the state government declared five districts (Angul, Boudh, Sambalpur, Deogarh and Nayagarh) as free Maoist belts. These districts did not report any violence caused by the Maoists in the last two years or more, which is an important criterion for recognition as a Red-free zone.
Currently, a total of 10 (Koraput, Malkangiri, Rayagada, Bargarh, Balangir, Nabarangpur, Kalahandi, Nuapada, Kandhamal and Sundargarh) of the state’s 30 districts are affected by the LWE threat.
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