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Six extremists belonging to the outlawed People's War faction of the Communist Party of India, Marxist-Leninist, including a district committee member, were killed in two separate encounters with the police in the Prakasam and the Warangal districts of Andhra Pradesh on Thursday.
State police spokesman Shujath Ali said the first encounter took place at around 0630 IST deep in a forest near Alatampetta village in Yerragondapalem block, while the second took place at Vangapahad village in Hasanparthy mandal, about 25 km from Warangal town, at around 1430 IST.
In the first encounter, a police party comprising elite anti-extremist commandos, called Greyhounds, and armed policemen from the district, were combing the forests abutting four districts -- Kurnool, Mahbubnagar, Guntur and Prakasam -- on the banks of the River Krishna.
On receiving information about a PW platoon camp near Alatampetta, the police rushed there. When the extremists saw the police, they began firing. The police retaliated, killing four of the extremists on the spot.
The dead included platoon commander and district committee member Seshanna and a woman.
The police recovered a self-loading rifle, a light machine-gun, one .303 rifle and a grenade-firing rifle along with two LMG magazines and a wireless set from the spot.
The Greyhounds were still combing the area for other Naxalites who fled the scene.
The second encounter took place when a police party acting on a tip-off encircled a house at Vangapahad village and asked a Naxalite couple to surrender.
They, however, lobbed a hand grenade at the police party, which failed to explode. Not giving up, they fired at the cops from country-made revolvers. The police retaliated killing the couple on the spot. The slain Naxalites were identified as Pandava Raju and Rajitha.
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