Nabarangpur (Odisha): Police seized contraceptive pills and pregnancy test kits from a Maoist hideout following an exchange of fire between security personnel and Maoists on the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border in Nabrangpur, the police said on Thursday. Disclosing the details of the incident, Nabarangpur Superintendent of Police (SP) S Sushree said the elite Special Operations Group (SOG) of Odisha police conducted an anti-Maoist operation in the Raighar area of Nabarangpur district bordering Chhattisgarh. An encounter took place on Tuesday night.
An exchange of fire took place even as a high alert has been sounded in the districts bordering Chhattisgarh following a Maoist attack in the neighbouring state. The Odisha police issued a high alert in some districts of Odisha like Nabarangpur, Koraput and Malkangiri on Wednesday after 11 persons, including 10 policemen and a driver, were killed in a Maoist attack in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada.
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The SP said that two teams of the Special Operation Group (SOG) launched an operation against the Maoists near the Chhattisgarh border when an exchange of fire with the Maoists took place. Around 25 armed Maoists were present at the site and the attack continued for over 30 minutes. The Maoists then fled from the area and disappeared into the forest.
Following the encounter, a search operation was carried out and huge quantities of Maoist articles, including Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), along with contraceptive pills, were seized from the Maoist hideout. The SP said that there was sufficient evidence that women were being sexually exploited in Maoist camps. Senior officers are monitoring the developments, she said.
