On Friday, thirteen Maoists were killed in an encounter with police in the Etapalli forest area of Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, including seven women.
An encounter between C-60 police commandos and Maoists broke out at Paydi-Kotmi forest in Etapalli on Friday morning, according to Gadchiroli Police. There had been a gathering of Maoists there for a dinner. During this action, the C-60 squad was able to shoot down 13 Maoists.
“AK-47s, SLRs, carbines, 303, 12-bore rifles, and explosives were recovered during the search,” according to the police release.
Tendu leaf collection is traditionally done in the Gadchiroli region during this season. According to the police, the Maoists profit handsomely from this trade.
“The C-60 squad had received information about the meeting of the Maoists in the forest, and accordingly, the team launched a planned search operation. C-60 team led by the Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal carried out this operation,” it added.
Dilip Walse Patil, the Maharashtra Home Minister, congratulated the police team on a fruitful operation.
“I’ll meet with Maharashtra’s Chief Minister to discuss the rise of Maoism along the Chhattisgarh border near Gadchiroli. We will meet with the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh soon to discuss different options for preventing Maoist problems in border areas “Mr. Patil said.
