BHUBANESWAR: Maoist central committee (CC) member and Odisha in-charge, Ganesh Uike (69), was among four Naxals killed in an encounter with security forces in Kandhamal district on Thursday. This brings the total number of Maoists killed in the district to six in the past two days, following Wednesday’s operation in which two cadres, including an area committee member, were gunned down. This is the first time in recent years that a Maoist commander in the rank of CC member has been neutralized by security forces in Odisha.
“Ganesh — also known by his aliases Rupa, Chamu, Pakka Hanumantu — hailed from Nalgonda in Telangana and carried a reward of Rs 1.1 crore on his head,” ADG (anti-Naxal operations) Sanjeeb Panda said. Panda said that the exchange of fire occurred in a forest under Chakapada police limits in Kandhamal district, near the Rambha forest range of Ganjam district. Following the operation, security personnel recovered the bodies of four Maoists in uniform — two men and two women — along with two INSAS rifles and one .303 rifle. “While Ganesh’s identity has been confirmed, the identities of the other three slain Maoists are still being verified,” Panda said. The encounter comes just two days after 22 Maoists from Chhattisgarh surrendered in Odisha’s Malkangiri district, signaling a significant setback for the insurgent group in the region.
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