Bhawanipatna: Odisha state committee secretary of the CPI(Maoist) Modem Balkrishnan alias Manoj was among those who escaped unhurt during an anti-Maoist operation in Jugsaipatna Reserve Forest area in the Kalahandi district, the police said today.
It was learnt that a Maoist team led by Odisha state committee secretary Manoj, managed to escape from the operation site inside the jungle, Kalahandi SP Brijesh Rai told reporters here.
Stating that there was an exchange of fire between the SOG jawans and the ultras during a combing operation inside the Reserve Forest area, the SP said the firing continued for about 30 minutes.
The state's anti-Maoist elite personnel were on combing operation when the Ultras opened fire on them, the SP said adding the rebels abandoned their camp and escaped.
Large quantities of items including kits, medicine stock, 24 detonators, one tiffin bomb and Maoist literature were recovered from the abandoned camp.
This was the fifth encounter between the police and the Maoists in Kalahandi in the last one year, Rai added.