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| India-Pakistan |
| Security forces gun down about 20 Maoists in Orissa |
| 2008-02-17 |
| NEW DELHI: Seven Maoists have been killed and many injured on Sunday in the continuing gun-battle between security forces and the ultras, who killed 15 people on Friday, in the Ganjam-Kandhamal border area of Orissa, official sources said. "Information about the death of a large number of Maoists in combing operation has been received, but we are not sure about the exact number of Maoists killed in the exchange of fire with the jawans," Orissa Home Secretary T K Mishra said. Top police sources said that eyewitnesses told them that the seven Maoists who were killed in the encounter were carried away by their cadres. It is a general practice among the Naxals not to leave the body of their members. Meanwhile, four jawans including an Assistant Commandant of the State Special Operation Group have not returned from an operation to track the Maoists who attacked police posts in Nayagarh district on Friday. Though their bodies have not been found yet, the police suspect they may have been killed in the firing with the Maoists. A hundred Maoists are positioned on top of Kutuni hill in Orissa's Ganjam district from where they continue to fire at the police. "The police have formed several groups to comb the forests located on the border of Ganjam and Kandhamal district," Director General of Police of Orissa Gopal Chandra Nanda said, after returning from the operation on Saturday night. "Jawans had encircled the area. There is no way for the ultras to escape from the place," Inspector General (Operation) S S Hansda added. The operation was halted on Saturday night as the policemen were not trained in jungle warfare. "Now the special teams of the Grey Hounds, and four additional companies of CRPF have been called in for assistance...," a senior police officer, who did not want to be named, said. "The ultras are heavily armed...They are using the arms and ammunition looted from the armoury on Friday night," he said. "...but our personnel are guarding all the exit points of the hillock since Saturday night to ensure that no one escapes." The Maosits had snatched at least 130 SLR rifles, 300 Insas rifles, 30 AK-47, 500 303 rifles, 203 SLR rifles, 80 9mm pistols and a lot of ammunition from two armouries on Friday. Commenting on Friday's attack, the DGP, however, denied that there was a failure on part of the intelligence department. He said Nayagarh district was not on the Maoists hit list and an attack of such scale could not be anticipated. Orissa has a State Intelligence Wing, which is led by an Additional Director General rank officer. The state government claims it has the best intelligence network. Meanwhile, LM Kumawat, Special Secretary Home, is in Nayagarh to take stock of the situation. |
| Posted by:john frum |
| #1 Good. |
| Posted by: Ptah 2008-02-17 19:27 |