Maoists dealt another blow, commander, 3 others shot

NAGPUR: Another Maoist bastion fell Friday when a 300-strong contingent of C-60 commandos gunned down four guerrillas, including the commander of one of PLGA's oldest formations in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli region, after wading waist-deep through the waters of Indravati to storm their island base.

Bhamragarh dalam (formation) commander Sonnu Masa Pungati 's death in the three-hour gunfight marks the second big success for anti-Maoist forces in 72 hours after CPI (Maoist) chief Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basavaraju was shot dead Wednesday along with 26 others in an operation in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur.

Pungati's aide Ashok Wadde, who had 17 cases against him, and two women Maoists - Binjyo Hoyami, a Chhattisgarh native wanted for five murder cases, and Karuna Pandu alias Mamita, of Gadchiroli - were killed in Friday's offensive. Two more Maoists who were in the hideout during the gunfight are still to be traced.

"We had intelligence about the presence of Maoists near Kawande (Pungati and Wadde's village). We launched the operation at daybreak despite inclement weather. It was a strategic success," Gadchiroli SP Neelotpal said.

An SLR, two .303 rifles, another gun, and over 100 rounds of ammunition were found at the site. Additional SP M Ramesh led the operations team, backed by CRPF.

Maharashtra is now left with around seven members of Gatta dalam, three in Aheri, and the last standing formation of the infamous "Company No. 10". The latter operates from deep inside Abujmarh, straddling Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.