Encounter breaks out between Maoists, security forces in Odisha’s Boudh

An exchange of fire took place between Maoists and the security forces during a combing operation at Nalikumbha forest under Manmunda police limits in Boudh district on Thursday.

The incident occurred while Special Operations Group (SOG) and District Voluntary Force (DVF) jawans were on a combing operation in the forest.

Sensing the movements of the security forces, the Maoists started firing at them. In retaliation, the combing team also fired back. The exchange of fire has been going on for the past one hour, reports said.

No casualty has been reported in the encounter so far. The gunfight was underway till the filing of the last report.

Meanwhile, two members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) surrendered before Kandhamal police today. The two Maoists with several cases against them surrendered before the DGP during his Mao review meeting.

The two have been identified as Ranjit Naitam and Unga Poyam, both hailing from neighbouring Chhattisgarh. The two had been associated with the Kandhamal-Kalahandi-Boudh-Nayagarh (KKBN) division of the Odisha State Committee of the CPI (Maoist) Association since 2017 and are involved in several violent activities.