The News Minute| June 20, 2014| 1.02 pm ISTThree Maoists were killed in a police encounter with the Guntur (Rural) District Police yesterday. The incident occurred in the Nallamala forest along the Guntur-Prakasam border. The police ran into the Maoists in the forest and warned them to surrender but retaliated when the Maoists opened fire.The three killed have been identified as Jana Babu Rao alias Ashok, Vimala alias Nirmala and Bharathi; they were carrying a prize of 5 lakh, four lakh and three lakh respectively. The police also recovered an SLR, an AK-47, a carbine and some ammunition from the spot.A fourth Maoist, Vikram, managed to escape the encounter, albeit injured. Searches are on to nab him. He is believed to to be heading an action unit in Mahbubnagar. In a statement to the PTI, a senior police officer said that the Maoists had been involved in several offences and had been underground for many yearsThe Maoist activity in the region had been relatively reduced after Ramakrishna, the top leader, fled in 2005. However, police say that Babu Rao had formed a new team and was active in Guntur, Prakasam, Kurnool and Mahbubnagar district.