Two alleged Maoists were gunned down in Cherla forests of Bhadradri Kothagudem district of Telangana. The incident came less than a week after the encounter where a Maoist was killed and less than a day after an improvised explosive device (IED) allegedly planted by Maoists exploded at Taliperu project area in Cherla.
The exchange of fire took place between alleged Maoists and the District Police Special Party (armed unit).
Speaking to TNM, Kothagudem Superintendent of Police (SP) Sunil Dutt said that they had reliable inputs that the armed underground formations of Telangana State Committee of Maoist party were planning to commit ‘sensational actions’ against security personnel and public representatives to enforce bandh.
In a statement he said " We also received further inputs that Maoist teams were moving in Cherla area to destroy public property and cause harm to public life, we had launched combing operations in most suspected areas in Cherla area. On Monday, at around 3 PM, while special parties were combing in the forest located in-between Vaddipeta- Pussuguppa, an exchange of fire occurred between a group of armed underground extremists and District Police special party."
According to the SP, the encounter lasted for 20 minutes. Two firearms were recovered and seized from the scene.
According to the senior officer, the combing operations by police forces in the area are underway.
According to reports in the regional media, on Sunday late night an IED explosion took place at the Pedda Midiseluru-Tippapuram road near Pagidivagu bridge.The explosion left over a three-feet-deep crater on the 30-feet road.
According to senior police officers, the latest "exchange of fire" took place when the state police and Greyhounds (anti-insurgency armed wing) was carrying out search operations on the intelligence of Maoists movement in the area.
On Sunday, a banned Maoist party gave a bandh call against the recent encounter killing by police, earlier last week in Gundala police limits an alleged Maoist who was later identified as Deval alias Shankar was killed in an "exchange of fire."
According to police officials no casualties were reported from the police side in the exchange of fire that took place on Monday. The fresh incident has further escalated the tension in parts of Telangana.
Last week the state Director General of Police (DGP) visited KB Asifabad and other interior parts and carried out an aerial inspection along with senior officials along the river Pranahita.
For around two months now, the state police’s Greyhounds, an anti-insurgency unit, have been carrying out an extensive combing in dense forests of Bhadradri-Kothagudem, JS Bhupalapally, Mulugu and Adilabad, Komaram Bheem-Asifabad and Mancherial districts.
The latest exchange of fire is the second incident in the district in less than a week. Earlier in July, a similar incident had taken place at Mallepallytogu in Kothagudem while another incident reportedly took place in Tukkuguda of Tiryani forests in KB Asifabad district.