Security forces on Sunday morning repulsed a Maoist attack in the forests near Podapadar village in Narayanpatna block of Orissa bordering Andhra Pradesh. A company of the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), which was ambushed by the security forces on Saturday evening, was involved. No casualties were reported.
Police in Orissa said some rebels were certainly injured in the ambush by the Special Operation Group with assistance from the Grey Hounds of Andhra Pradesh. Eight Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) and a dozen kit bags of the rebels were seized from the scene of the first armed conflict.
The raid in Narayanpatna block, a stronghold of the Maoists, comes as a shot in the arm of the police forces, which have been targeted successfully by the Maoists in their recently launched nation-wide Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC).
Police sources in Hyderabad said Grey Hounds guided by the SOG teams moved into the difficult terrain with precise inputs about the presence of the PLGA company of 100 fighters. Over 150 People's Militiamen were also with them.
With the surprise element on the side of the police forces, the rebels who offered some resistance had to retreat into the forests. They regrouped and launched the Sunday morning attack, officers monitoring the raid from Hyderabad told The Hindu.
Since the rebels were equipped with automatic weapons and ‘matched the strength' of the police forces, the teams were moving slowly. “We have to take maximum precautions,” police officers said.
Were plotting major attack?
The presence of the PLGA company, Orissa police suspect, was meant for a major attack on police installations, possibly the Narayanpatna station in Koraput district.
According to DIG Sanjeev Panda the “signs of heavy bleeding and dragging of bodies at the spot of encounter hint at casualties and injuries.” However, police were unwilling to hazard any guess on the number of casualties.
“As we have not recovered any bodies, nothing can be said for sure about the number of Maoists who may have got hit by police bullets,” Mr. Panda said.
Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik told newsmen in Bhubaneswar that some Maoists were injured during the encounter in Koraput district.
Koraput SP Anup Sahu also felt that the presence of a large number of Maoists hinted at plotting for a major attack.
There are two camps of the Border Security Force (BSF) near Narayanpatna town.
