Mumbai:At least 13 Naxals were killed in an encounter with police in the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra early Friday, police said.
According to Sandeep Patil, Deputy Inspector General of Gadchiroli, the face-off started around 0500 hrs when the ultras had gathered for a meeting in the forest of Kotmi in Etapalli.
Working on a tip-off about the meeting, the C-60 unit of Maharashtra Police had launched a search operation.
The ultras spotted them and opened fired. The police also retaliated and in the ensuing firing, 13 out-laws were killed.
"We had kicked off the operation a day ago itself after learning about the Maoist presence in the forest. So far, we have learnt about 13 bodies being recovered. The searches are still on," he said.Thirteen bodies have been recovered so far.
After Gadchiroli encounter, Nanded SP alerts anti-naxal squad
Nanded: Against the backdrop of killing of 13 naxalites in the police and naxals clash in Gadchiroli district, the Superintendent of Police Pramod Kumar Shevale on Friday instructed the C-47 squad working in Kinwat area to remain vigilant.
As Nanded is adjacent to Telangana, a state with a history of Naxalite movements. Even here, naxals were active in Kinwat and Mahur tehsils for the last few years due to prevalence of the dense forest.
The movement cooled down somewhat after their leader Vijay Kumar was knocked down by the Nanded police. But in Gadchiroli, Nagpur district, Naxalite organizations were on the rise. In order to prevent such incidents from happening in the district, an anti-Naxalism squad (C. 47) was pressed to work. Shewale said that the team working in the area has been alerted about the incident in Gadchiroli.(UNI)