Telangana police. (Wikimedia)
During an encounter with the Telangana police in the early hours of Sunday, 1 December, seven Maoists were killed in the Mulugu distrct. In the encounter at the Eturnagaram forest area of Mulugu district, key leaders of the Maoist movement in the state were reportedly killed.
According to the police, the operation was conducted jointly by the Telangana Greyhounds and an anti-Maoist squad as part of a combing exercise.
Police sources said the Maoists opened fire upon encountering the security forces, leading to retaliatory action by them.
In the ensuing exchange of gunfire, seven Maoists were killed. The deceased were identified as Kursam Mangu alias Bhadru alias Papanna (35), Egolapu Mallaiah alias Madhu (43), Mussaki Deval alias Karunakar (22), Jai Singh (25), Kishore (22), and Kamesh (23).
The police also recovered several firearms from the site, including two AK-47 rifles.
Recently, in an encounter that took place on 18 November at the Kabbinale forest area within Hebri police station limits of Udupi district in Karnataka, Naxal commander Vikram Gowda was killed.
A special Anti-Naxal Force (ANF) has been carrying out search operations in Udupi and nearby regions since the beginning of November.
Vikram Gowda was a Naxalite commander operating in Karnataka for nearly two decades. His being gunned down marks the first encounter in the area after 20 years. The last encounter was in November 2003, when two women Naxalites were killed in a similar encounter.
#Telangana: Seven Maoists, including key leaders, were killed in an encounter with the police in the Eturnagaram forest area of Mulugu district during the early hours of Sunday. According to the police, the operation was conducted jointly by the #Telangana Greyhounds and an… pic.twitter.com/pond8972tO
— South First (@TheSouthfirst) December 1, 2024
