Seven more Maoists killed in Maredumilli forests; police ask surviving cadres to surrender

Vijayawada: Stepping up anti-Maoists operations, security forces killed seven more cadres in the Maredumilli forest region of Andhra Pradesh Agency on Wednesday.

Briefing the media in Vijayawada, AP Additional Director General of Police (Intelligence) Mahesh Chandra Laddha said the encounter occurred in the early hours of Wednesday.

ADGP Ladda said initial reports suggest that some top leaders, including Deviji, may have been among those killed

However, he added that complete details are still being ascertained.

He asked the surviving Maoists to surrender, as

Top leaders Hidma killed :

He said due to continuous operations in Chhattisgarh and Andhra-Odisha Border (AOB) region and other states, Maoists are trying to shift their hideouts to cities and urban areas.

"We have strengthened surveillance and are closely tracking their movements. As part of the operation launched on November 7, an encounter took place on the morning of November 18 in the Alluri Seetharamaraju district. Central Committee member Madivi Hidma and five other Maoists died during an exchange of fire,” he said.

50 arrested on Tuesday :

The Organisation for Counter Terrorist Operations (OCTOPUS) and police personnel arrested 50 Maoists across NTR, Krishna, Eluru, Kakinada, and Konaseema districts on Tuesday. Those detained include three Special Zonal Committee members, 23 platoon members, five Divisional Committee members, and 19 Area Committee members. “All arrests were made without any harm to the public. We also seized a significant quantity of weapons and explosives,” he noted.

The arrests were made during search operations on the Maoist hideouts in the districts of Krishna, Eluru, NTR, Kakinada, and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar Konaseema. "Some Maoists escaped after Tuesday’s encounter in Maredumilli. Teams have been deployed to track them down as well,” ADG Ladda said.