Two persons, believed to be members of CPI-Maoist squad, were killed in an exchange of fire with police in Kadamba forest area in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district late on Saturday night.
The suspected Maoists were yet to be identified. Ramagundam Police Commissioner V. Satyanarayana, confirming the exchange of fire, said that police parties were combing the area when they noticed movement of suspected Maoists.
On noticing the approaching police parties, the extremists opened fire. When police parties returned fire, they fled the place. Two bodies were found lying at the site of exchange of fire site. It occurred in Kagaznagar rural police circle area near Kadamba village, according to information reaching here.
This is the third exchange of fire incident in northern Telangana in less than a month. Earlier, a Maoist was killed in an exchange of fire with the police in Gundala mandal of Bhadradri Kothagudem on September 3. Four days later, two Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire with the police parties near Charla mandal in the same district.
Police stepped up combing operations in northern Telangana districts for the past four months, following inputs that CPI-Maoists started attempting to regain strength in the area. CPI-Maoist Telangana State Committee member Bhaskar alias Mailrepu Adellu and his squad members were reported to be moving in Kumram Bheem Asifabad district forest area for past five months.
Adellu narrowly escaped in three exchanges of fire with the police special parties during the searches. DGP M. Mahender Reddy recently went on a tour to the area to take stock of the situation in northern Telangana in the backdrop of reports of increased Maoist movement.
