Bhubaneswar, June 21: Special Operations Group (SOG) jawans today gunned down a woman Maoist during a combing operation in the Banjipalli area of Balangir’s Khaprakhol block.

The SOG men also seized 100 detonators, two landmines and more than a dozen live cartridges from the spot which nestles at the foot of the bauxite-rich Gandhmardan hills.

The operation has confirmed the suspicion that the Maoists are trying hard to make inroads into newer areas including Balangir district. A foothold in Balangir would give the rebels a strategic advantage as the district lies close to Kalahandi and Nuapada, which share a border with Chhatisgarh.

Senior police officials said jawans combing the forests in Banjipalli came face to face with a group of heavily armed Maoists in the wee hours today. “The woman was killed following a fierce gun battle. However, her colleagues managed to retreat back into the forest and escape,” said an officer.

Intelligence sources said the Maoists had entered the area via Sunabeda wildlife sanctuary in Nuapada district from the Chhatisgarh side. They were trying to set up a base close to the Gandhmardan hills where the local youths have been waging a battle against the alleged bid by some private companies to mine bauxite with the consent of the state government.

Following the encounter, combing operation has been intensified in the area with police also stepping up its vigil in the sensitive areas of Nuapada district where the Maoists have killed around a dozen persons, including nine police jawans, in the last one month. The police jawans, who belonged to neighbouring Chhatisgarh, were ambushed by the rebels on the edge of Sunabeda sanctuary which they have been using as a hide-out.

“Maoist cadres from Chhatisgarh take shelter in the sanctuary whenever the police in the neighbourig state turns the heat on them. They have also been using it as a safe corridor for movement between the two states,” said a police officer.

In yet another significant development, the state government is reported to have withdrawn cases against four top ranking Maoists in accordance with the promises it made in February while negotiating the release of former Malkangiri collector R. Vineel Krishna, who had been kidnapped by the rebels.

Sources said that cases registered against Andaluri Eswari (29), Roja Madingi alias Puni alias Sarita (21), Kendula Sirisha (42) alias Padma alias Nirmala and Gokul Kuldipia (42) in the Semiliguda area of Koraput were withdrawn following a prayer moved in a local court.