Blow to Maoists as 12 rebels killed in Telangana

hyderabad — In a major setback to the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), at least 12 guerrillas were killed in a gunfight with police in Telangana’s Jayashankar Bhupalapally district on Friday.

A police constable also lost his life, police said and three personnel of the elite Greyhounds antiMaoist force were injured.

The exchange of fire occurred in the forests near Venkatapuram village on Telangana-Chhattisgarh border in the early hours of Friday.

The Maoists received the big jolt in the joint operation by the police of the two states in Tadapalagutta-Pujarikamkedu region on the inter-state border.

The incident occurred when police, including Greyhounds personnel, launched combing operations in the forests following tip-off about the presence of Maoists.

They surrounded the guerrillas and asked them to surrender. However, the Maoists opened fire, forcing the police to retaliate. Some Maoists escaped deep in the forest.

Additional forces were rushed to the area to launch the combing operations. Senior police officers, including Jayashankar Bhupalapally district Superintendent of Police R. Bhaskaran, also rushed to the scene. Some top leaders of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) including the banned outfit’s Telangana Secretary Haribhushan alias Jagan and another key leader Chukka Rao were suspected to be among the slain Maoists.

The dead include six women cadre of the outfit. Haribhushan’s wife Samakka was also killed in the encounter.

Haribhushan had been heading the outfit since formation of Telangana State and he was carrying a reward of Rs3 million on his head. According to police, he was an accused in at least 50 cases.

Sushil Kumar, a constable of Greyhounds was also killed in the gun battle. Three other police personnel were injured and they were airlifted to Bhadrachalam town. The bodies of Maoists were also shifted to the town for autopsy. —