Team News Riveting
Raipur, May 21
In a meticulously planned operation, commandos of Maharashtra police’s elite force C-60 struck Gadchiroli forest today morning and gunned down 13 Maoists.
Of the Maoists killed, six are reported to be male and seven female. The process of identification was in progress as police suspected a big catch in the combat.
The entire operation was planned based on the intelligence inputs. The police had received a tip off about the presence of rebels in Paydi-Kotmi forests in the eastern Vidarbha’s Gadchiroli. The Maoist cadre from the Kasansoor dalam reached the village and held a meeting in connection with the tendu leaves contract.
Sources said the rebels did not retreat and camped in the village to move in the morning. The C-60 planned the operation and moved from Gadchiroli and Aheri’s Pranhita headquarters to raid the location. The forces cordoned off the area and waited for the dawn to break before storming the camp.
The Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG), Naxal range, Sandip Patil said the fierce gunbattle took place during the daybreak. “We had kicked off the operation a day ago itself after learning about the Maoists’ presence in the forest. So far, 13 bodies have been recovered. The searches are still on,”he said.
The commandos have recovered arms and ammunition besides literature and other materials of daily need from the encounter site. The weapons include AK-47 rifles, Self-Loading Rifles (SLRs), 303 and others.
