Three Naxalites, including two women cadres, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on May 13, police said.
According to the district’s Superintendent of Police Neelotpal, intelligence inputs indicated members of the Perimili Dalam were camping in the forests near Katrangatta village in Bhamragad taluka, intending to conduct subversive activities during their ongoing tactical counter offensive campaign (TCOC) period. The outlawed force executes TCOC from March to June to bolster its ranks and mount assaults on security forces due to reduced forest cover.
Two units of C-60 commandos of the Gadchiroli Police were dispatched for a search in the vicinity and during the operation Naxals opened fire on the teams, prompting retaliation from the commandos, Mr. Neelotpal said.
“After the exchange of fire ceased, the bodies of one male and two female Naxalities were recovered from the scene, with one identified as Vasu, the in-charge and commander of the Perimili Dalam,” Mr. Neelotpal said.
An AK-47 rifle, a carbine, an INSAS rifle, Naxal literature and other incriminating material were seized at the site, he said.