Nuapada: A gun battle broke out between the CRPF personnel and Maoists at Barakote ghat inside Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary under Komana police limits in Nuapada district in the wee hours of Friday.
After a few days of silence, the Maoists have shown their presence in the area leaving the local residents panic-stricken.
According to reports, the CRPF jawans of 216 Battalion in Barakote camp undertook a combing operation inside Sunabeda Wildlife Sanctuary Thursday night. However, when the jawans were returning to their camp Friday morning after their operation ended, they had a faceoff with the Maoists.
The outlawed Red rebels first opened fire on the CRPF personnel near Barakote ghat. The jawans also fired in retaliation resulting in a brief gun battle inside the dense forest. The Maoists then could not face the wrath of the CRPF jawans and managed to flee the spot taking advantage of the dense forest cover.
The CRPF personnel then started a search operation at the encounter site following the incident. During the search, the body of a dog along with Maoist items has been recovered. However, no injury from any side was reported in the exchange of fire.
PNN