Maredumilli (Asr District): Seven Maoists of the CPI (Maoist) Party were killed in an exchange of fire with police personnel in the Maredumilli region of Alluri Sitarama Raju district early on Wednesday. The encounter took place near G.M. Valasa village, becoming the second such operation in the last 24 hours in the same forest area. “In continuation of Tuesday’s operation, seven Maoists were killed (on Wednesday), according to information received from the field,” Laddha said, adding that today’s operation occurred about 7 km from the earlier exchange of fire (EOF) site on Tuesday.
Alluri Sitharama Raju district Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Bardar said the firing occurred between 5 am and 5:45 am near a hill about 7.5 km from Maredumilli Police Station, where security forces, including CRPF units, assisted the local police. The exact location of the encounter was Gujjumamidi village, a forested area in Maredumilli mandal. The police recovered two AK-47 rifles, five AK-47 magazines, five SBBL guns, a .303 rifle, 72 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, 34 rounds of SBBL ammunition, 24 rounds of .303 ammunition, 18 detonators, three kg of cordex wire and several kitbags from the spot.
The encounter at Maredumilli resulted in the death of six Maoists, taking the total to 13 under ‘Operation Sambhav’ in two days.
According to Laddha, Shankar had been in the Maoist movement for about 20 years and continuous security operations compelled him to move. Shankar, a native of Srikakulam, was in-charge (CCM) of Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) and had specialised in technical operations such as arms manufacturing and communication. Further, he said Shankar is believed to have come to the southern state to revive the movement.
Metturi Joga Rao alias ‘Tech Shankar’, in-charge Central Committee Member of the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB), was among those shot dead. Additional Director-General of Intelligence Mahesh Chandra Laddha confirmed these details on Wednesday.
The other Maoists gunned down were identified as Area Committee Members (ACMs): Nambala Kesava Rao, Jyothi alias Sarita, Suresh alias Ramesh, Lokesh alias Ganesh, Sainu alias Vasu, Anitha, and Shammi.
According to police sources, the encounter took place around 7 a.m. and resulted in the neutralisation of a total of three women and four male Naxalites.
Police officials indicated that a few of the Maoists killed on Wednesday were among those who had managed to escape following Tuesday’s exchange of fire. The death of Tech Shankar, who specialised in technical operations for the banned outfit, is believed to be a major loss for the group.
