A mole within the rebel camp helped police carry out Orissas biggest ever encounter early Saturday morning,leaving 13 Maoists dead and causing a major setback to the Andhra Orissa Border Special Zonal Committee of the CPI (Maoist). In biggest success,Orissa police kill 13 Maoists The mole,a Koya tribal,and his interlocutor were part of a small team of 40 policemen,led by Malkangiri SP Akhileshwar Singh,that carried out the assault at Silakota village. The senior most of the rebel leaders present,however,escaped in the attack. It was the precise information provided by the Koya tribal that helped police reach the remote spot,near Silakota,where the Maoists were camping. It is a small clearing less than 100 metres in length and breadth surrounded by Phoosa hills and thick forests. The nearest road is over 10 km away. Heavy rain Friday night also helped. Yes,the information was precise. We knew our targets. They were in three tents,and there were three sentries. We crossed the layer of sentries,but they had taken shelter in the tents due to the rain, Singh told The Indian Express. The downpour also drowned out the sound of police movement. Confident of the precise nature of the information,the SP said they didnt feel the need to call it additional troops or Central forces. A small team is always handy in such cases, he said. Odisha DGP dismisses Maoist demand of withdrawing BSF camps According to one Silakota villager,the Maoists had arrived at the spot just hours before the attack. We had no information about them. Normally whenever they come,they inform us and seek food from us, the villager said. The team led by Singh left their Malkangiri headquarters,around 70 km from Silakota,about 11 pm. They covered the last 10 km,where the forests began,by foot. 'Urban Maoists plan to raise army of professional revolutionaries' Firing began around 5 am. Some villagers rushed away hearing the shots,only to return later. Later,police asked some of the villagers to help load bodies onto vehicles. Police said while Maoists in the first test could offer no resistance,some firing came from the second,while the Maoists in the third tent,containing their seniormost leaders,managed to escape. All the deceased were members of the Kalimela Area Committee of the CPI (Maoist). The 'urban Maoist' front While Singh admitted that the deceased were not senior Maoists,the toll is big enough to cause them a major setback in the area. It will have a huge psychological impact. It boosts forces,destroys Maoist morale and creates public opinion in favour of the administration. Since they are already facing setbacks in the area,it comes as a major jolt, the SP said. Almost everyone in Malkangiri was talking about the police success Sunday. Perfect soochna (information). Tabhi to 13 ko maar diya (Thats why they could kill 13). The SP himself led and killed while they were sleeping, a Bengali shopkeeper at Kalimela said. Claiming that the encounter was justified,Singh said: There was no option of asking them to surrender. Even if I had asked them,do you think they would have? They would have shot back at me and we would have suffered casualties. Its jungle warfare. Until 9 pm Sunday,the bodies were in the SP office and had not yet been cremated. At the spot,some black tarpaulins,shawls and clothes were lying around,including several pairs of sandals. Only four of the 13 deceased have been identified,including Rama Kawasi,Irma Podiami,Mangala Podiami and Rama Urmami. Orissa has two prominent Special Zonal Committees of the CPI (Maoist) AOB (Andhra Orissa Border) and COB ( Chhattisgarh Orissa Border). Malkangiri falls under the former,that has seen major setbacks this year.
