In Odisha, a top leader carrying a reward of one crore and ten lakh rupees on his head was killed in an encounter early this morning during a joint security operation. The top Maoist has been identified as Ganesh Uike, a Central Committee member and Odisha in-charge of the banned CPI (Maoist). He was linked to several major Maoist attacks in different states.
According to Odisha Police, the encounter took place in the Chakapad police station area of Kandhamal district and the Rambha forest range along the Kandhamal-Ganjam border. The operation was launched following intelligence inputs received by the Special Intelligence Wing. Five other Maoists were also reportedly killed in the encounter. Search and combing operations are continuing in the surrounding forest areas to rule out the presence of any other Maoists. After the encounter, Director General of Odisha Police, YB Khurania, said that Odisha Police has set a target to end all Maoist activities in the state by March of next year.
