A fortnight after five Maoists, including a senior leader with Rs 20 lakh reward on his head, were killed in an encounter with Odisha Police, two more Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire with the anti-Maoist cops in Kandhamal district on Thursday evening.
Odisha Police chief Abhay said that a team of anti-Maoist police force of Special Operations Group (SOG) and the District Voluntary Force (DVF) were patrolling in Sirla reserve forest area of Kandhamal district when they came under fire. “The police forces fired in self-defence. After the exchange of fire ended, the SOG and DVF spotted two bodies – a male and a female. Both were in Naxal uniform. We also seized one INSAS rifle, one carbine, and two country-made firearms,” Abhay said. The DGP appealed the Maoists to surrender and get the benefits of Odisha Government’s Naxal rehabilitation policy.
The identity of the two deceased Maoists is yet to be ascertained.
Between July 5 and 7, five Maoists including two women were killed in two separate encounters with the police in Kandhamal district in Sirla forest of Tumudibandh block. One of those killed was Kosa Sodi alias Sukru, a member of Odisha State Committee of the CPI (Maoist) with a bounty of Rs 20 lakh on his head. The other two were identified as Itesh and Reena, both area committee members with reward of Rs 4 lakh each on their heads.
The Union home secretary, in a letter to Odisha chief secretary and DGP, had appreciated Odisha Police for its successful operation in Kandhamal district on July 5.
