How Many Maoists Were Killed in the Latest Encounter in Andhra Pradesh?
Synopsis
Key Takeaways
- Six to seven Maoists were killed in a police encounter.
- The clash took place in the Meredumilli forest area.
- Intelligence operations led to significant arrests of Maoist members.
- A substantial cache of arms was recovered during the operation.
- This operation highlights ongoing efforts against Maoist insurgency in the region.
Visakhapatnam, Nov 19 (NationPress) In a recent clash, six to seven Maoists, including prominent leaders, lost their lives during a confrontation with police in Andhra Pradesh's Alluri Sitharamaraju district on Wednesday.
The incident unfolded in the Meredumilli forest area, where a top Maoist commander, Madvi Hidma, along with his wife and four others, were killed just a day prior, according to police reports.
All the deceased Maoists are believed to have originated from Chhattisgarh.
On Tuesday, nineteen Maoists managed to flee during the earlier encounter, prompting security forces to continue operations in the area. The gunfire exchanged on Wednesday morning was reportedly a follow-up to that incident.
Authorities believe that several senior Maoist leaders were among those killed in this latest clash.
During a press conference in Vijayawada, Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Mahesh Chandra Laddha confirmed the ongoing exchange of fire, stating that further details were still pending.
Following intelligence reports about Maoists from Chhattisgarh and Telangana attempting to infiltrate Andhra Pradesh, the intelligence network has been on high alert.
"Based on specific intelligence, an operation was launched on Monday. The encounter in the ASR district on November 18 resulted in the neutralization of CPI (Maoist) Central Committee member Hidma and five other Maoists," he stated.
He further revealed that, in connection with this operation, 50 Maoists were apprehended across NTR, Krishna, Eluru, Kakinada, and Konaseema districts on Tuesday. This included three special zonal committee members, 23 platoon members, five divisional committee members, and 19 area committee members.
Laddha emphasized that the arrests were conducted with minimal risk to the general public.
"This might be the first time in history that we have arrested such a significant number of Maoists, including key cadres," he remarked.
A substantial cache of arms and explosives was also recovered from the arrested individuals, marking the operation as a significant achievement for the Andhra Pradesh police.
The ADG, along with SPs, IGs, and commissioners from the five districts, held a press conference at the Command Control Centre in Vijayawada to provide details about the arrests.