Five Maoists killed in gunfight with forces in Odisha's Kalahandi district

Five Maoists were killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Odisha's Kalahandi district on Wednesday, a senior officer said.

The exchange of fire, in which a jawan of the Odisha Police's Special Operations Group (SOG) was also injured, took place in the Bhandarangi Sirki forest area on the Kalahandi- Kandhamal border, he said.

While four bodies were found from the forest after the gunfight, the body of another Maoist, a female, was recovered during the combing operation, Kalahandi's Superintendent of Police B Gangadhar told PTI.

A jawan of the SOG also sustained injuries and is undergoing treatment at a hospital, he said.

Six weapons were recovered from the site and reports of more recoveries are expected as the teams are yet to return to the base camp, he said.

"The combining and search operation in the forest is getting hampered because of the heavy rain in the area," the officer said.

Acting on an intelligence input, the SOG along with the Kalahandi District Voluntary Force (DVF) launched the operation on Tuesday, another official said.

Two composite teams of the SOG and DVF were part of the operation, he said.

The exchange of fire started around 11 am on Wednesday and lasted for about half an hour, he added.

More teams of SOG, DVF and CRPF were sent to the area later for combing and search operations, he said.

Five Maoists, including two women, were gunned down by the security forces in the Sirla Reserve Forest area in Kandhamal district on July 5. Two more rebels were killed in the same area on July 23, police said.