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Regular-article-logo Monday, 21 July 2025

Three rebels killed in gunbattle

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ASHUTOSH MISHRA Published 20.07.13, 12:00 AM

Bhubaneswar, July 19: At least three Maoists were killed in an early morning shoot-out with the security forces in the Tureighat forests of Rayagada district today.

Police suspect the death roll might go up to six as the rebels were seen carrying their injured colleagues following the gunbattle that lasted for about half an hour in the Doraguda police station limits.

“We retrieved three bodies, but we saw them carrying at least three others, who had been injured,” said Rayagada superintendent of police Rajesh Pandit, who led the security forces during the encounter that began around 5am.

Pandit said he had received information about the rebels’ movement in the hilly forest, which is about 23km from Doraguda police station, around 10pm yesterday. He immediately set out for the area with a joint team of the Special Operations Group and the District Voluntary Force jawans.

“It took us around seven hours to reach the place. When we challenged the Maoists, they opened fire at us. Three of them were killed in the retaliatory attack by our jawans,” said Pandit.

The Maoists also exploded a claymore mine while retreating, but no one was injured in the blast. Pandit said combing in the area had been intensified with deployment of the additional forces, including the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawans.

Today’s encounter came in the wake of an exchange of fire between the security forces and the Maoists in the Tekaguda forests of the adjoining Malkangiri district on July 16. A security personnel was injured in the encounter, which took place while the jawans were engaged in a combing operation in the area.

Rayagada, which is around 500km from Bhubaneswar, shares borders with Andhra Pradesh. Though the Maoists have increased their presence in the district, at least 10 of them have been killed in encounters in the past two years. While nine rebels lost their lives in a gunbattle with the security forces at Basangmali in 2011, a lone cadre was killed in an encounter at Pukura last year. Top Maoist leaders, including Manoj alias Modem Balakrishna, Nikhil and Bunty, operate in the district.

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