Three more bodies of Maoists recovered after Malkangiri encounter, toll rises to 27

Mangalore Today News Network

Oct 25, 2016: Three bodies of Maoists were recovered by the police Tuesday after the encounter in a forest in Malkangiri district on the Odisha-Andhra border, news agency ANI reported. With the recovery of the bodies, the number of Maoists killed in the encounter has risen to 27. One Greyhound personnel was also killed.

 

Following intelligence inputs, a joint team of the Greyhounds, Odisha Police Special Operation Group and District Voluntary Force had surrounded a Maoist camp in a forest area in Malkangiri district close to the state border. Reports say Maoist central committee member Ramakrishna, who was present at the meeting, had escaped but there was no confirmation from the police. However, his son Munna was killed in the attack. 14 of the bodies from Monday were yet to be identified.

Gajarla Ravi, a top leader of CPI (Maoist) is suspected to have been killed in the operation. Ravi’s family called it a ‘fake encounter’ and said they will file a petition in the court seeking an investigation into the encounter. Ravi was considered dangerous for his planning of attacks on police personnel. Ravi is said to have joined the ranks of the Maoists along with two brothers in the 1980s.

Several weapons including AK47s and SLRs were recovered from the site of the encounter. Officials told the Indian Express that the attack will weaken the Maoists after they were pushed to areas near the Odisha-Andhra border.