Express News Service By

KHAMMAM: Eight CPI (Maoist) naxalites, including five women, were killed in an encounter with the police of Telangana and Chattisgarh in a forested area on the interstate border near Bhadrachalam on Tuesday morning.

The encounter was a joint operation by the Telangana Greyhounds, the Chhattisgarh police and central security forces.

Senior police officers of either state were unable to confirm whether Haribhushan was among the slain Maoists. At the end of the day, they identified the identities of three of the slain naxalites.

Although initial reports said Haribhushan was also killed in the encouter, police sources said later that he managed to elude the security personnel.

Police also gave out conflicting details about the site of the encounter. Local reports said the encounter took place on the interstate border between Telangana and Chhattisgarh near Cherla in Pamed police station limits in Bijapur district of Chahattisgarh.

According to the Bastar inspector-general of police Siva Rama Prasad Kalluri, a joint police team launched a combing operation in the area after receiving specific information about the movement of the CPI (Maoist) Telangana state secretary Haribhushan and guerilla squad commander Kunja Veeranna alias Lakshma alias Lachchanna and other leaders of CPI (Maoist).

"After spotting the Maoists, the police asked them to surrender, but the Maoists opened fire, prompting retaliation by the police in which eight naxalites were killed," said Kalluri.

The police recovered an AK-47, three SLRs and several .303 rifles and ammunition from the spot. From the discovery of an AK 47, police initially deduced that Haribhushan was among the Maoists. However, local police hesitated to confirm the death, they said hat Lachanna was indeed killed in the gunfight.

>>Also read: Postmortem Completed on the Bodies of the Slain Maoists at Bhadrachalam

Local reports said another major Maoist leader Bade Chokka Rao alias Damodar too escaped.

The bodies of the slain naxalites were taken to Bhadrachalam Area Hospital for a post-mortem.

Visuals from Bhadrachalam