Bhawanipatna (Odisha): Odisha Police on Tuesday gunned down at least three Maoists while a cop was injured during a gunbattle in a forest in the state's Kalahandi district, sources said. The firefight between the Maoists and the police broke out early today morning shortly after the police launched a massive search operation in the area.
The search operation was launched following specific inputs about the presence of Maoists in the area. In the ensuing gunbattle, three Maoists were killed even as a DSP rank officer suffered injuries in the exchange of fire, DGP Sunil K Bansal said. The injured policeman was rushed to Bhima Bhoi Medical College & Hospital in Bolangir, he said.
Also read: Chhattisgarh Maoist Blast: Naxals planted IED beneath road through 'foxhole mechanism'
The identity of the slain Maoists was not immediately known. While the encounter was over, the combing operation was still underway in the area along the border of Kalahandi-Kandhamal districts. Pertinently, at leaset 10 DRG (District Reserve Guard) jawans and a civilian were killed after Naxalites triggered a powerful Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted beneath the road in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Apr 26.
Bastar police said that the IED was planted beneath the road a few months back after digging a tunnel through 'foxhole mechanism'. A foxhole tunnel enables the Naxals to dodge the security forces. According to officials, the DRP personnel were returning from Aranpur after conducting a search operation there following specific inputs about the presence of Naxalites there.
In the visuals from the attack site that surfaced after the attack, a deep crater was seen formed as a result of the blast suggesting the high amount of explosives used in the attack.
