Two Maoists were gunned down in an alleged encounter at the Kadamba forest near Kagaznagar in Telangana’s Komaram Bheem Asifabad district. The incident came less than a month after two incidents of alleged encounters between the outlawed CPI (Maoist) party and state police. The incident took place late on Saturday night, according to reports in regional media.
Asifabad in-charge Superintendent of Police (SP) and Ramagundam Commissioner of Police Sathyanarayana is supervising the operation along with other senior officials from undivided Adilabad district.
The SP said that a team of Moaists led by Mailarapu Adellu alias Bhaskar from the Mancherial- Asifabad Divisional Committee of the CPI(Maoist) had been moving around undivided Adilabad for the last three to four months. Sathyanarayana said that the team of Maoists had escaped thrice in less than five days during combing operations by Greyhounds and special party police teams recently.
The Commissioner said, "On the evening of September 18, in some cotton fields near Chilatiguda, Maoists were spotted but forces had restrained themselves as there were children and other locals in the fields. Instead, police tried to chase them."
According to the in-charge SP, on Saturday night, eight Greyhounds personnel and six special party teams carried out combing operations near Bejjur, Koutala, Dehegam, Esgam on the border with Gadchiroli after reliable information.
He said, "Under the supervision of Kagaznagar Rural Circle Inspector, Greyhounds and special party teams were carrying out combing operations. The group led by Bhaskar were spotted. On seeing them holding weapons, police asked them to surrender but they continued to fire shots indiscriminately. The police too, started firing in retaliation. Exchange of fire from two sides took place for over an hour."
According to the SP, two dead bodies were found later in the morning during a search at the scene. Two weapons and a bag along with 'revolutionary literature' and letters allegedly written by Central Committee members of the Maoist party were seized.
The police said that one of the deceased was identified as Chukkalu, a core member of the Mancherial-Asifabad action team, hailing from Chhattisgarh, while another is yet to be identified.
Police said that there have been no casualties reported from their side. As many as 18 Greyhounds teams and special party teams along with local police are combing the Chennur region along the Pranahita river.
The SP said that Maharashtra police were also alerted and are carrying out combing operations on the other side of the Pranahita river. In the first week of September, the state Director General of Police (DGP) Mahender Reddy visited Asifabad and other interior parts of the district and carried out an aerial inspection along with senior officials along the river Pranahita.
For over three months, interior parts of undivided Asifabad, Bhadradri-Kothagudem, Mulugu and Jayashankar Bhupalpally districts are witnessing a tense atmosphere with Maoists attempting to regain their ground and police carrying out combing operations.
This is the third exchange of fire incident in northern Telangana in less than a month. A Maoist was killed in an exchange of fire with the police in Gundala mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem on September 3. Two Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire with the police near Charla mandal in the same district. Police have heightened their vigil in the districts bordering Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra.