Four maoists gunned down in encounter on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border

In a joint operation, police's special commando unit C-60 and the CRPF killed four Maoists in an encounter along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Gadchiroli district on Friday, a senior official said.

The official, in a statement, informed that based on credible intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists formations on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border near a recently opened FOB (Forward Operating Base) in Kawande area, an operation was launched on Thursday afternoon.  A dozen C-60 parties (300 commandoes) and a component of the CRPF launched the operation from Kawande and Nelgunda areas towards the banks of the Indravati river amidst heavy rains, it said.  On Friday morning, when the cordon was being laid and river banks were being searched, Maoists started indiscriminate firing on C-60 commandoes, leading to an effective retaliation by security forces in Gadchiroli district in eastern Maharashtra, said the official.  Intermittent exchange of fire continued for almost two hours and a search of the area by security forces later led to the recovery of bodies of four Maoists, he added.  An automatic self-loading rifle, two .303 rifles, a Bharmar gun, walkie talkies, camping material and Naxal literature, among other items, were recovered from the spot, according to the statement.  The encounter in Maharashtra comes two days after 27 Naxals, including their top leader Basavaraju, were gunned down by security forces in adjoining Chhattisgarh.