BERHAMPUR: Two women Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire between security forces and the extremists in Matakupa Reserve Forest Area within Gochapada police limits on border of Kandhamal-Boudh districts on Tuesday.
The incident happened during a joint operation of Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) , said IG (SR) Satyabrat Bhoi. Basing on intelligence inputs, Kandhamal SP Vineet Agarwal led a coordinated combing operation in the area when all of a sudden, the Maoists opened fire at the security forces. In retaliation the SOG and DVF personnel too fired and gunned down two Maoists, the IG said, adding, the others however escaped taking advantage of the dense forests.
Bodies of two female cadres of the banned CPI (Maoist) in uniform were recovered from the site. Besides, four fire arms including an INSAS rifle with 11 rounds of ammunition and one Improvised Explosive Device (IED) have been recovered from the area.
However, the identity of the deceased is yet to be ascertained, the IG said, adding, combing operation has been intensified. More teams have been pressed into the area.On October 12, a female Maoist cadre was killed in an exchange of fire with security personnel in Sindhi forest within Baliguda police limits of Kandhamal district.