Six Maoists, including two important functionaries, were killed in two separate encounters in Andhra Pradesh on Friday.

The slain Maoists include a district committee secretary and a district committee member, according to the police.

Four Maoists were killed in an encounter in Warangal district while two others were shot dead in an exchange of fire in Nalgonda district.

Giving details, a state police spokesman said that two Maoists -- district committee member Murali and Krishnapatti dalam (armed squad) member Dayanand -- were killed in an encounter in the forests in Chandampet area in Nalgonda district.

Murali was the mastermind behind the attack on Atmakur police station on August 18 in which four police personnel were killed. He hailed from Medak district. Dayanand was a native of Ibrahimpatnam in Rangareddy district.   

The police recovered a .303 rifle, a self-loading rifle and two kitbags from the encounter site.

In the other incident, four Maoists, including a top leader, were killed in an exchange of fire with the police in

Warangal district.

Giving details of the incident, Warangal Superintendent of Police M Stephen Ravindra said that one of the slain Maoists has been identified as A Swamy alias Madhu, Karimnagar East Division (Mahadevpur forest area committee) secretary.
Three other Maoists slain in the encounter were women cadres, he added.

On a tip-off that some Maoists were meeting to discuss 'tactical counter operations' against the police, a special police party took up combing operations in Tadwai forest area near Eturunagaram. 

The police party spotted some Maoists in the forest near Ooretta village under Tadwai police station limits. The police asked them to surrender but Maoists opened fire on them. In the ensuing exchange of fire, four Maoists were killed.

The police recovered one AK-47 rifle, three .303 rifles and four kitbags from the scene of encounter. Some other Maoists, including North Telangana special zonal committee secretary Ganesh, managed to escape from the encounter site.

Police intensified combing operations in the area in pursuit of the fleeing Maoists.