Bhubaneswar, Jan. 9: Nine Maoists, including four women, were gunned down in an encounter with the police in the forests of Kalyansinghpur in Rayagada district early this morning.

Sources said among those killed were Maoists area commander Rabi and two deputy commanders, one of them a woman. The police also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the forest following the encounter which had continued for several hours.

Sources said the encounter ensued after the Maoists, holed up in the forest, were challenged by the security forces combing the area. Sub-divisional police officer of Muniguda R Prakash led the operation. Combing operation in the area has been intensified as the police expect to recover more bodies.

“The toll is expected to rise as many more rebels have sustained injuries. We will know the exact number of the dead only after the operation is over,” said a senior police officer. DIG, southwestern range, Soumendra Priyadarshi said the raid was carried out after a tip-off.

This was one of the biggest operations against the rebels and came close on the heels of the recent Jajpur encounter in which five Maoists were killed.

Security was also stepped up in parts of Sundergarh district after armed Maoists blew up two cabin signal points at Bandamunda railway station near Rourkela today. The attack affected train services on Howrah-Mumbai route.

The armed Maoists left behind posters opposing Operation Green Hunt and demanding the release of Binayak Sen, who had recently been convicted by a Chhatisgarh court on sedition charges.

The blasts come barely 24 hours after a high-level security meet in Calcutta, which was attended by top police and railway officials of Jharkhand, Bengal and Orissa.

At the meeting it was decided that night trains on the Chakradharpur-Rourkela section could resume in a fortnight after adequate security beef up.

In a related incident, Maoists of the Dandakaranya zonal committee kidnapped four persons from a liquor den at Michhapali village in Nuapada district on Saturday night. The rebels released the captives only after warning them against engaging in the hooch trade.

Senior officials said operation against the rebels, who are on a killing spree, would be further intensified across the state. In the past three years, the radicals have killed at least 92 policemen and paramilitary jawans, a majority of these killings having taken place in Malkangiri district, a known rebel stronghold.