Security forces in Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra on alert

Hyderabad: Five women and two men suspected to be Maoists were killed in an encounter in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Wednesday. The police recovered two self-loading rifles, two .303 rifles and some bags from their possession.

Sources in the Telangana Police said that the Gadchiroli Police had received a tip-off from intelligence agencies prior to the encounter.

“The patrolling team was cordoning-off the patch of forest near Kalled which borders Chhattisgarh when the exchange of fire took place,” the official said.

It is suspected that a few Maoists may have escaped and so combing operations have been taken up by the police in Telangana and Chhattisgarh as well.

Maoist groups observe the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) Week from December 2 to 8 every year. Though there has been no Maoist activity in the state for the past few years, the police are on high alert as a precautionary measure.

A senior police official said that forces in all districts bordering Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra had been put on high alert. 

“So far there is no intelligence or reports of movement of Maoists groups in Telangana. Combing operations are being carried out as usual in all districts of the state,” he said.

The police in the Adilabad are being especially cautious as Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao is scheduled to visit the district on Thursday. Special parties are combing forest areas in the region and coordinating with their counterparts in Maharashtra.