New Delhi: At least six Naxals were killed in an encounter in the forest area of Kistaram Police Station limits in the border area of Telangana and Chhattisgarh on Monday, said Bhadradri Kothagudem SP, Sunil Dutt. The combing operation is still undergoing, he added.
The encounter was between Telangana Grey Hounds and Naxals in the border region, the state police further said. according to the reports, as of 10 AM, the operations are still continuing.
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Hours before the encounter, police recovered two Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district. According to a PTI report, as the Naxals were losing support in the Bastar and Abujmad regions in Chhattisgarh, they started implanting IEDs targetting the Police forces in the region.
"In the last few months, searches in the insurgency-hit areas of the district of Chhattisgarh have been intensified," an official said as quoted by the PTI.
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The joint operation was carried by Telangana's Greyhounds team and is assisted by Chhattisgarh's CRFP and DRG teams.
The deceased are yet to be identified, said the police while giving out a clue that one among the dead is their senior leader. "The information was that they were preparing IEDs to attack police. A joint operation by Chattisgarh forces and Telangana Greyhounds was taken up and the encounter with the group of Maoists occurred between 6:30 AM to 7 AM. At least six Maoists have died. They are yet to be identified,” SP Dutt said as quoted by Indian Express.
According to the report, SP Sunil Dutt said that they received a tip-off about the naxals camping in the Telangana's Pesalpadu region.