Six naxals killed in encounter with police in Telangana’s Kothagudem district

Exchange of fire breaks out between Telangana Greyhounds and Maoist Lachanna dalam

Kothagudem: In a major offensive against naxals, six cadres, including the CPI (Maoist) Party Manugur area committee secretary Lachhanna, were killed in the district on Thursday.

Superintendent of Police B Rohith Raju in a statement said the Maoists belonged to Bhadradri Kothagudem-Alluri Sitaramaraju Divisional Committee (BK-ASR DVC). The encounter took place at around 6.45 am in the forest area near Mothe village, five kilometers north-west of Karakagudem police station when as many as 150 Greyhounds commandos and district police were on regular patrol.

---

Naxals opened fire at the police, who also fired back in self-defense. After firing was stopped police searched the area and spotted six dead bodies, four males and two females. Police recovered two AK-47 rifles, one SLR, one .303 rifle, one pistol, live ammunition, kit bags and other gadgets, the SP said.

Two police personnel suffered bullet injuries during the encounter and were shifted to hospital for treatment. Search was on for a naxal who escaped from the spot, he added. According to sources the escaped naxal was Masaiah.

Meanwhile, the BK-ASR DVC secretary Azad in a statement held the State government and the three ministers in the district as responsible for the encounter. He said the Maoists would soon avenge the killing of six of their cadres.

He said division committee member Lachhanna was from Raigudem, Punem Lucky alias Tulalsi from Kumbad, Kosi and Gangal from Komatipalli, Durgesh from Bottem in Chhattisgarh State besides Paloncha-Manugur area commander Ramu from Jaggaram in AP. He called for a district bandh on September 9 in protest against the encounter.

Lacchanna dalam has been operating in the area for some time now in Telangana after migrating from Chhattisgarh in this July as they were facing pressure in that State and also to build up the party in Telangana.

As the river Godvari and streams were overflowing due to recent rains the team was unable to go back into Chhattisgarh, compelling them to stay back and move around in the local forests. The encounter is indeed a setback for their efforts to build a base in Telangana.

It might be recalled that a Maoist action team member Nallamuri Ashok alias Vijender of Buddharam village in Ghanpur mandal of Bhupalpally district was killed in an encounter at Dameratogu on the border of Kothagudem-Mulugu districts on July 25.