Three Maoists were gunned down in an encounter with police in Marripakala forests under Visakhapatnam’s Agency area on Wednesday.

The incident took place in the evening when a team of Andhra Pradesh Special Police Force personnel were conducting a combing operation in the area under Koyyuru police station limits.

At around 6:15 PM, the Maoists opened fire at the team and police retaliated, said Babujee Attada, Additional Superintendent of Police (Operations), Visakha Rural.

As per preliminary information, three Maoists were gunned down by police whereas the other ultras managed to escape with injuries, Attada said, adding an assault rifle was recovered from the spot.

Though the identity of the deceased is yet to be established, one of them is suspected to be a 'commander' of the Galikonda Area Committee of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), the ASP said.