Four Maoists were killed in a gunfight with police in Telangana's Mulugu district, close to Chhattisgarh border, on Tuesday, January 18. The exchange of fire occurred in the Karragatta forest in Venkatapuram mandal in the early hours of the day. A constable of Telangana’s anti-Naxal Greyhound force was also injured in the operation. Officials said that he was airlifted to Hanamkonda, where he was admitted to a hospital.
The incident occurred when the police personnel engaged in combing operations encountered a group belonging to the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). According to police sources, the Maoists refused to surrender and opened fire forcing the police to retaliate. Four Maoists were killed in the exchange of fire. Divisional level leaders of CPI (Maoist) were suspected to be among those killed. An Indian Small Arms System or INSAS assault rifle was reportedly recovered from the encounter site.
The joint combing operations by the police of both Telangana and Chhattisgarh continued in the forest area amid reports about the presence of top Maoist leaders in the region. In December 2021, at least six Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, bordering Telangana. Six ultras, including four women, were killed in the gunbattle with the special anti-Naxal Greyhounds unit of the Telangana Police, a senior police official posted in Bastar had said.
Sukma Superintendent of Police Sunil Sharma claimed security forces inflicted a heavy blow to the Kistaram area committee of Maoists, which had been instrumental in carrying out various deadly attacks in the past. “There are a total of five area committees of Maoists operating in Sukma. In the last six months, security forces have been successful in effectively controlling the activities of the Kerlapal and Konta area committees,” Sharma had told PTI.