11 more dead Maoists found in Maharashtra river; toll reaches 33

The security forces have recovered at least 11 more bodies of suspected Maoists from the Indravati River here early on Tuesday, official sources said.

The bodies, which were bloated and have started to decompose, were found floating on the banks of river which flows along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh borders.

These 11 Maoists are believed to be from among those who managed to escape to the forests during a gunfight with security forces on Sunday. They must have succumbed to their injuries, an official declining to be identified told IANS.

Searching and combing operations in the entire Gadchiroli district, which has been virtually sealed by the security forces, continues in the jungles, villages, hills and valleys to track and snuff out the Maoists from their hideouts.

At least six Maoists were gunned down in a fresh gunfight in the district, barely 36 hours after Sunday's encounter which left 16 rebels dead.

The fresh encounter took place late on Monday in the Rajaram Kahnhila village in Jimlagatta with the crack commandos of the C-60 force.

A high-ranking commander of the Aheri Dalam, identified as Nandu, is among those killed.

Jimlagatta is 60 km from the scene of Sunday's ambush in which 16 Maoists including three of their high-ranking commanders and seven women were killed.

Other Maoist-infested states besides Maharashtra -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana are on a state of high alert, ever since the state security forces here launched their biggest anti-Maoist operations in around four decades.

--IANS

qn/in