Phulbani: At least two Maoists including a woman were gunned down during an exchange of fire with a team of Special Operation Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) in a dense forest in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Thursday.
Based on the tiff off, the security personnel launched combing operation in the forest under Tumudibandha police limits in the district. As the security personnel approached their hideout, the Maoists opened fire and a gun battle ensued, leading to the death of the two rebels.
“The rebels started heavy firing for which police party immediately took cover and asked Maoists to stop firing and surrender. Later the police party fired in retaliation leading to death of two Maoists in uniform,” said Police DG, Abhay
A cache of arms and ammunition has been seized from the area. One INSAS rifle, one carbine and two country made firearms have been recovered from the encounter site.
Earlier in the first week of the month, as many as five Maoists carrying a reward of Rs 34 lakh were killed in the district.
Ms Kalinga