Naxals, police exchange fire in Gadchiroli

Nagpur, Aug 9 (UNI) The police exchanged fire with a group of suspected naxalites in Gadchiroli district in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, police said today.

According to the police, the encounter took place near village Jarawandi in Etapalli tehsil of the district last night.

A group of 70 to 80 suspected naxalites triggered three landmine blasts targeting a patrol party, conducting a search operation in the area, police said.

Suspected to be from the Etapalli, Platoon and Kasansur dalams, the naxalites hurled grenades and opened fire at the policemen.

Three naxalites were hurt in the return fire by the police. When the police tried to nab the injured men, their colleagues hurled grenades and took them away under a hail of gunfire, escaping into the dense forests nearby, police added.

The police suspect that some more naxalites were injured in the encounter, which lasted for nearly 20 minutes. The police later seized four empty cases of rifles, a live bullet and one grenade pin.

UNI