Six Maoists killed in fresh Maharashtra gunfight, toll reaches 32

At least six Maoists were killed in a fresh gunfight in Gadchiroli district and 10 more bodies were recovered from the Sunday’s encounter site where 16 rebels had died in an operation by security forces, official sources said.

The latest encounter between the Maoists and the crack commandos of the C-60 force took place on Monday evening in Jimlagatta region of the district, which is 60 km from the scene of Sunday’s ambush.

The Maoists who were killed in the Sunday encounter carried rewards of Rs 82-lakh cumulatively on their heads. Of them, Srinu alias Srikant, south Gadchiroli division head, was carrying a cash reward of Rs 20-lakh on his head.

Among the dead were seven women Maoists.

Sunday’s deaths dealt one of the biggest blows to the extremist rebels in recent years. “We had information about the movement of Perimili dalam of the CPI (Maoist) near Tadgaon. So, we launched an operation on Saturday evening. On Sunday, around 9.30am, an encounter ensued that continued for hours. This is the first time that two divisional committee members of the CPI (Maoist) have been killed in one operation,” said DIG (Gadchiroli range) Ankush Shinde.

Sharad Shelar, the inspector general of police (IGP) for Nagpur range, said the area had been surrounded and forces were carrying out a combing operation.