At least six Maoists were killed in a fierce gun-battle with security forces in Orissa's Koraput district on Sunday, said the police. "On the basis of indications from the encounter site, at least six Maoists have been killed," said senior police officers engaged in the anti-Maoist operation in a forest in Podapadar area in Narayanpatna.
Earlier reports indicated that at least 10 Maoists had been killed in the encounter.
"The exchange of fire which began on Saturday night between the rebels and a joint team of the Orissa police, the Greyhound and the Border Security Force in Podapadar forest, ended on Sunday morning after the Maoists fled," said Superintendent of Police (Koraput) Anup Kumar Sahoo.
Stating that Maoists generally do not leave behind bodies of their cadre at encounter sites, a senior police officer said security personnel who took part in the operation reportedly saw some rebels carry away a couple of injured ultras or bodies while fleeing the site.
While a chopper was pressed into service to conduct an aerial search after the encounter, a massive combing operation was conducted in the area, police sources said. Director General (Intelligence) Prakash Mishra said besides kit bags, some explosives, land mines, Maoist literature and other articles, apparently left behind by the Left-wing extremists, were found from the area during search. The police said blood stains and dragging marks could be seen along the route in which the Maoists retreated after the exchange of fire.
The encounter took place after a joint team of the Orissa police, the elite Greyhound force of Andhra Pradesh and the BSF spotted some armed ultras near a hilly area. The rebels opened fire, and the police promptly retaliated, sources said, adding that the number of ultras engaged in the encounter was yet to be ascertained.
"Likelihood of casualties among the Maoists is high, but we are yet to recover any body after the intense gun-battle. The ultras always try not to leave bodies of their cadres in encounter sites," Sahoo said.
The gun-battle came a day after the top brass of the Central Reserve Police Force held discussions about anti-Maoist strategies with Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik.
It also came on the eve of a high-level meeting convened by the Union home ministry in New Delhi with top officials of six Maoist-hit states, including Orissa, as part of efforts to fine-tune anti-Naxal strategies, official sources said.
