Maoist casualties suspected in Orissa gun battle

In a fierce gun battle with Maoists on Sunday, securitymen were believed to have inflicted some casualties in the rebel side in Orissa's Koraput district, police said.

Loss of lives and injury among the ultras were suspected after heavy exchange of fire, that broke out with security personnel on Saturday night, continued till Sunday morning in a forest of Podapadar area under Narayanpatna police station limit, about 100 km from Bhubhaneshwar, they said.

"They (police) believe that some Maoists have been affected and injured during the encounter with security personnel in Koraput district," Chief Minister, Naveen Patnaik told reporters in Bhubhaneshwar. He said further details were awaited about the encounter between Maoists and a joint team of Orissa police, elite Greyhound force of Andhra Pradesh and the Border Security Force. "The likelihood of casualties among the Maoists is high, but we are yet to recover any body after the intense gun-battle. The ultras always try not to leave bodies of their cadres in encounter sites," Koraput Superintendent of Police, Anup Kumar Sahoo said. However, there are indications

Police said blood stains could be seen along the route in which the Maoists retreated after the exchange of fire, while some kit bags and other articles were also found from the encounter site in the forest. A clear picture would be available after the forest was thoroughly searched and scanned, Sahoo said.

The encounter took place after security personnel spotted some armed ultras near a hilly area as the rebels opened fire seeing the cops, who promptly retaliated, police said. The number of ultras engaged in the encounter was yet to be ascertained. The gun battle came a day after top Central Reserve Police Force brass held discussions about anti-Maoist strategies with the Orissa chief minister.

It also came on the eve of a high-level meeting convened by the Union Home Ministry in New Delhi on May 10 with top officials of six Maoist-hit states, including Orissa as part of efforts to fine-tune anti-Naxal strategies, official sources said.