Nine Maoists killed in Orissa, railway services affected

BHUBANESWAR - Nine Maoists were killed in a gunfight with the security forces in Orissa’s Rayagada district early Sunday, while the guerrillas also clashed with the police in Kandhamal, police said. The rebels also blew up railway signal cabins near Rourkela, affecting services for over eight hours.

In the first incident, the rebels clashed with security personnel in a forested area near Kalyansinghpur in southern district of Rayagada, some 450 km from here.

At least nine Maoists were killed, Inspector General of Police (Operation) Sanjeev Marik told IANS.

Police also recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the site.

Based on a tip-off on Maoist presence, police raided the forested site and retaliated when the guerrillas opened fire, Deputy Inspector General of Police Soumendra Priyadarshi told IANS over telephone.

“We suspect a prominent local Maoist leader was killed in the battle but we are not sure,” he added.

In another incident, the rebels fired at police personnel near Gugarmaha in Kandhamal district, Superintendent of Police S. Praveen Kumar said.

The rebels fled to the nearby forest after the security forces retaliated. The exchange of fire that continued for about half an hour, he said, adding that police recovered some arms and weapons, including a rifle and explosives.

Some Maoists may have been killed but no dead body has been recovered yet, he said.

In the third incident, around 50-60 armed Maoists triggered a blast at the signalling and link cabins near Bondamunda station in Sundergarh district.

Train services in the Chakradharpur-Rourkela and Rourkela-Hatia sections of South Eastern Railway (SER) were disrupted for over eight hours, an official said.

More then half of Orissa’s districts are Maoists affected. The district of Sundergarh, Kandhamal and Rayagada are considered Maoist strongholds.