Hyderabad: Two rifles, one busted hideout, and a hell of a gunfight.
Acting on a tip-off that Maoists from the Bhamragad Dalam had set up camp right on the Maharashtra–Chhattisgarh border, Gadchiroli police launched an operation late Sunday near the newly opened Forward Operating Base (FOB) at Kawande.
Roughly 200 C60 commandos, led by Additional SP (Admin) M Ramesh, swept into the area that evening. By Monday morning, as the team began combing through the terrain, Maoist cadres opened indiscriminate fire. What followed was a fierce two-hour exchange—shots rang out at three separate locations, with intermittent bursts as the Maoists tried to break contact.
C60 hit back hard. By the end of it, the camp was in ruins.
During the post-encounter sweep, commandos recovered two firearms—an INSAS automatic rifle and a single-shot weapon—along with a magazine, live ammunition, detonators, a radio, three pitthus (kit bags), a wireless charger, and a cache of Maoist literature and personal belongings.
Police said the site had been completely neutralised. Though no bodies were found, officials suspect Maoists may have been injured or killed and dragged away during retreat.
Operations are still underway in the area.
