14 Maoists killed in Odisha encounter

Bhubaneswar (Agencies): At least 14 Maoists, including a woman, were killed in a fierce gun battle with police in Odisha's Malkangiri district on Saturday. "Fourteen Maoists were killed. Arms were also seized," Inspector -eneral of Police Soumendra Priyadarshi said. Malkangiri, over 600 km from state capital Bhubaneswar, is considered a stronghold of Maoists.

The gun battle, which lasted several minutes, took place in a forest close to the border with Chhattisgarh. A police team led by DSP Akhileswar Singh, which included personnel from the district voluntary force, raided the site and retaliated when the extremists fired at them. DIG Devdutt Singh said a joint team of special operation group and district voluntary force had launched a combing operation following a tip-off about the camp of Maoists.

The Maoists fired at the police party in Silakuta forest in Padia area, and the latter retaliated. The group that camped in the forest is suspected to have been involved in the May 25 attack by Maoists on a convoy of Congress leaders in that state. Malkangiri SP Akhileswar Singh, who led the operation, said some explosive materials, arms and ammunition and Maoist literature were seized from the site. Describing the operation as a major success in the drive against left wing extremists in the region, the DIG said a massive search operation had been launched in the forest after the encounter.