Malkangiri encounter with Maoists pre-planned: Odisha DGP

Odisha Director General of Police (DGP) Prakash Mishra said Saturday that the encounter, which resulted in the deaths of 14 Maoists in Malkangiri district, was pre-planned.

The district police had launched an operation involving the Special Operations Group (SOG) and personnel of the District Village Force (DVF).

Mishra said the exact quantity and types of arms and ammunition would be known only after the team comes out of the area.

"There was an exchange of fire and according to information received with us so far 14 Maoists have been killed. Arms and ammunition have been seized but exact quantity and types of arms and ammunition will be known only after the team comes out of the area," he told media here.

Mishra further said the encounter took place near the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.

"This particular encounter took place on the Chhattisgarh border. We had information that groups from Chhattisgarh are entering our area once in a while and this operation was launched on specific information that they would cross the border and come into our area. So, the district police had launched an operation involving the SOG (Special Operations Group) and personnel of the DVF (District Village Force)," he added.

The Maoists, who are considered to be India's greatest internal security threat, have off-late intensified their operations in Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Bihar and some areas of West Bengal.