24 naxals dead in Odisha encounter; AP Greyhounds jawan too dies in firing
BHUBANESWAR/MALKANGIRI (ODISHA): In one of the biggest encounters, at least 24 Maoists and a Greyhounds commando of Andhra Pradesh Police were killed on Monday morning at Bejing jungle under Panasput gram panchayat in Odisha’s Malkangiri district. Of the 24 rebels killed, seven were women.
Malkangiri SP Mitrabhanu Mohapatra said the AP-Odisha joint police team raid was consequent on intelligence inputs that top Maoist leader Ramakrishna was holding a meeting in Bejing jungle.
Odisha DGP K.B. Singh said the police recovered bodies of the slain rebels from the encounter site. An AP Greyhounds commando, Mohammed Abu Bakar, was killed in the exchange of fire. AP Police has announced a Rs 40 lakh ex gratia to the family of Abu Bakar. No concrete information is available about Maoists top leader Ramakrishna alias RK.
Big success for AP and Odisha police
The DGP confirmed that Maoist leader and Malkangiri divisional secretary Gajrala Ravi alias Uday was killed in the encounter. No concrete information is available about Maoists top leader Ramakrishna alias RK.
“Maoist leader Uday has been killed. He was carrying a reward of '2 lakh on his head. Till now, the police have recovered 18 bodies,” Mr Singh said. The police is checking if Ramakrishna was present during the encounter.
“We had information that at least 40-50 rebels were holding a meeting in Panasput area. The Greyhounds and Odisha police carried out a joint operation this morning,” said SP Mohapatra.
Visakhapatnam rural SP Rahul Dev Sharma said as the cops advanced towards the Maoists camp, the rebels opened fire. The police seized 20 firearms, including four AK-47 rifles, 10 .303 rifles, three SLR rifles, one Insas rifle, two kitbags, one laptop, and Rs 2.16 lakh.
Reports said bodies of 14 slain Naxals were flown to Malkangiri district police headquarters in the evening. By evening, six bodies were identified.
They are Venkataramana alias Ganesh and Daya alias Kistappa (AOB state committee members), Chalapathi, Gajarla Ravi, Suresh and Munna. Munna is the son of Ramakrishna. AP-Odisha joint police team raid conducted following intelligence inputs that top Maoist leader Ramakrishna was holding a meeting in Bejing jungle.
