Policeman killed in crossfire with Maoists

By IANS

Bangalore : A policeman was killed during an exchange of fire between the Maoist rebels and police in Karnataka's Shimoga district.


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Venkatesh, an assistant sub-inspector was killed in the firefight late Tuesday evening near Agumbe, about 300 km from here.

State police chief K.R. Srinivasan is now camping in the area and a combing operation has been launched. But search operations have been affected by heavy rainfall in the area, senior police officials leading the team said.

It is not yet clear whether Venkatesh was killed by Maoists or was accidentally shot by the police.

Senior police officials said, they were verifying reports that the assistant sub-inspector was in civilian dress, perched on a treetop to alert the police party on Maoists' movement in the area, but was fired at by policemen who mistook him for an ultra.

Police said they were on a search operation Tuesday after learning that a group of Maoists had entered the house of a local Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader earlier in the day and threatened him and his family to support a 'bandh' call given in the area on July 19.

The shut down has been called to protest the alleged fake encounter in the neighbouring Chikmagalur district on July 10 in which five people, including a woman, were killed.

Police said all of them were Maoists or their sympathisers but locals and civic groups contend that they were victims of a fake encounter.

The Maoist attack Tuesday, the fourth this month, came when state home minister

M.P. Prakash was meeting legislators from the four affected districts of Shimoga, Chikmagalur, Udupi and Mangalore here.

Prakash said in the meeting that the government was ready for talks with the Maoists only if they surrendered their arms.

He said the state government will adopt a two-pronged strategy of strict action against Maoists and speeding up development works in the affected areas.

Prakash said he would visit the four districts within a week to talk to the local people and address their grievances.

Earlier this month, Maoists had set on fire a state-owned bus in Agumbe after forcing the passengers to get down. No one was injured in the incident, but the rebels left behind a letter saying that the act was to protest the alleged fake encounter in Chikmagalur.

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