Koraput: A heavy exchange of fire between the police and Maoists was witnessed inside a jungle near Panasput village under Padua police limits in this district Saturday.
Though 20-30 Maoists managed to escape from their camp, the police seized a huge cache of arms, ammunition and other material from the spot, Koraput SP Charan Singh Meena said at a press meet here Sunday.
A special squad comprising two teams of Special Operation Group (SOG), District Voluntary Force (DVF) and local police led by additional SP Niranjan Sahu was combing the jungle when they came face-to-face with the ultras. The Maoists reportedly opened fire at the jawans, forcing the latter to retaliate.
The exchange of fire continued for over half an hour with over a 100 rounds fired from both sides.
A meeting of the ultras was being held at the camp when the special squad came face-to-face with them, the SP said.
Two INSAS magazines, 30 live bullets, two detonators, three hand-made explosives, two walkie-talkies, solar-powered lamps, chargers, three pairs of Maoist uniforms, a binocular, Maoist literature, medicines, electric wires, batteries and utensils were recovered from the spot.
The ultras had convened the meeting mainly to identify police informers, create terror in the area and strengthen their base in the district, it was learnt. PNN
