3 Maoists killed in gunfight on Telangana-Chhattisgarh border

MULUGU/HYDERABAD/RAIPUR: Three Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire between the outlaws and security personnel on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border early Monday.
During a joint combing operation by Telangana’s Greyhound commandos and Chhattisgarh police deep inside dense forest in Telangana’s Mulugu district, the security personnel came under a burst of fire from Maoists prompting the former to retaliate, a Telangana police officer said.
The Greyhounds, Mulugu district cops and a unit from Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur police had been combing the dense forests for the past few days looking for top Maoist leader Madvi Hidma, after informers spotted him near the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border.

“During the combing operation, the Maoists fired a volley of bullets at the security personnel and the latter returned the fire. In the ensuing gunfight, three Maoists were killed,” Mulugu SP Sangram Singh G Patil said.
Weapons indicate senior cadres in group
Bastar range IG P Sundarraj said the hourlong encounter broke out between Telangana Greyhounds and Maoists in a patch of dense forest near Nilamadugu on the interstate border, between Perur in Telangana’s Mulugu district and Illimidi in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur. The seized weapons include an AK47 and an SLR, indicating there were senior cadres in the group of insurgents.
Telangana Maoist State Committee spokesperson Jagan, in a statement, identified those killed as Naroti Damaal, a resident of Gadchiroli in Maharashtra, and Soddi Ramaal and Punem Bhadru of Bijapur district. The CPI (Maoists) alleged it was a fake encounter and declared a bandh on Wednesday in Mulugu to protest the killings.
The joint combing operation began after a tip-off that Maoists had planted landmines to attack police and paramilitary camps in the area, besides targeting local politicians. While sanitizing the area, police recovered a hand grenade, 12 kit bags, four weapons, including the rifles, explosive wire, pressure cooker, and a knife.