VISAKHAPATNAM: Tribal villages in the Agency area are once again in grip of fear with the exchange of fire (EoF) between Gummurevula and Buradakota villages in Sileru police station limits in the early hours of Wednesday.
Police have reliable information that one key leader of the banned Maoists named Naveen, who is acting as the Galikonda area wing chief, was with the group.
With the information, higher officials ordered more intensive combing and the security forces undertook extensive search operations to nab the Maoist leaders on the run.
According to police sources, around five teams of AP Greyhounds and Special Police who were involved in the combing operation along the East Godavari-Visakhapatnam Agency border with specific information regarding the presence of Maoists in the area, came face to face with a 20-member group of Maoists and warned the latter.
As the unidentified miscreants opened fire, the security forces retaliated and started firing and it continued for around 35-40 minutes. The security forces found that the miscreants had fled the spot. However, there were no injuries or casualties on both sides.
Later, when they searched the area, three 303 Lee Enfield rifles, two landmines and 15 kit bags along with some banned outfit’s publicity material were found. Further, the security forces intensified the combing operations to nab the Maoists. Police officials believe that Naveen and two other top leaders of the Maoists were part of the group and escaped.
“On a tip-off, security forces started search operations in the Agency areas along the East Godavari-Visakhapatnam border on Wednesday midnight. As per our information, the security team identified a group of Maoists and as they opened fire, our forces retaliated.
No casualties have been reported so far and the search operation is continuing,” Bapujee Attada, SP of Visakhapatnam district, told TNIE. The police officials suspect that the Maoists must be chalking out plans to create some violence to make their presence felt in the state.