Two suspected members of the banned CPI (Maoist) were killed in an alleged encounter near Pedakodapalli village in Pedabayalu mandal in the AOB region of Visakha Agency, in the early hours of Saturday.
According to Superintendent of Police, Visakhapatnam, Attada Babujee, two parties of Greyhounds, the anti-Maoist special force of the Andhra Pradesh Police, and a few personnel from the 198 Battalion of the CRPF were on a routine combing operation in the region. At around 12.30 a.m. a 20-member patrolling team of the Maoists from the Pedabayalu Area Committee opened fire at the security forces, Mr. Babujee said.
The security forces retaliated and after the firing subsided, the police team found two bodies reportedly belonging to the Maoists and recovered two country-made weapons, he claimed.
One CRPF jawan was also injured in the exchange of fire. The jawan is undergoing treatment at a corporate hospital in Visakhapatnam, and is said to be out of danger. According to sources, the Maoist party comprised Dalam members and armed militia from neighbouring villages. The duo killed in the exchange of fire are said to be from villages in that area and are yet to be identified.
Girijan Sangham claim
Meanwhile, members of the Girijan Sangham staged a dharna near the office of Paderu Sub Collector and in Pedabayalu, demanding an independent inquiry into the exchange of fire and compensation to the family members of those killed. They alleged that those killed were innocent tribal people who were on a hunting trip.