In total, 15 bodies of the 30 slain Maoists have been handed over to their family members and the remaining are yet to be claimed.
Of the 30 bodies, 20 have been reportedly identified and the remaining are yet to be identified, according to Superintendent of Police, Visakhapatnam, Rahul Dev Sharma.
While 24 Maoists were killed in the early hours of Monday, four were killed on Tuesday and two on Thursday in three separate encounters with AP Greyhounds near the cut-off area in Malkangiri district of Odisha.
The unclaimed bodies of the Maoists, who were killed in the encounters on Monday and Tuesday,are likely to be buried on Saturday, as the Supreme Court guideline of preserving the bodies for 72 hours has already passed, said Mr. Rahul Dev Sharma.
He also said the identity of the two Maoists, who were killed on Thursday, was yet to be ascertained and they likely belonged to the Chhattisgarh region.
The Superintendent of Police categorically denied the speculation that Central Committee member Ramakrishna alias RK who was said to have been present at the encounter site was now in police custody.
According to him the combing operation is still on and will continue for some more time.
