Specialised teams of the Kerala Police engaged in a fierce gunbattle with Maoists in a forest area in this northern district on Monday, police said. The exchange of fire occurred in the Uruppumkutty forest under the Karikkottakari police station limit, they said. Top police officials declined to disclose details of the operation conducted by the elite Thunderbolt and Special Operation Group commandos. Local police sources, however, said that the Maoists initiated the firing, prompting the commandos to retaliate during their combing operations in the forest.Following the gunfire, the police conducted a search in the area, recovering three guns and finding bloodstains, suggesting that the Maoists were injured.Hospitals in the area were placed under police surveillance. This incident follows an exchange of fire between the Thunderbolt force and Maoists in a forest area in Wayanad the previous week. Two Maoists — a man and a woman — were arrested after a gun battle in the Periya area under the Thalappuzha police station limit in Wayanad.
