By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : A brief gun battle broke out between police and Maoists in a forested area of Orissa’s Malkangiri district Sunday, an official said.
The gun fight took place in Orkel police station area when a police party, comprising personnel of the district volunteer force and special operations group, came face to face with a group of rebels, police said.
“The force retaliated after the rebels opened fire at them,” Deputy Inspector General of Police Soumendra Priyadarshi told IANS.
Maoists escaped into the forest after the gun battle that lasted a few minutes.
“All policemen are safe. It is not known if there was any casualty from the Maoist side,” he said.
The Left-wing rebels are active in more than half of Orissa. The district of Malkangiri, over 600 km from here, is considered a rebel stronghold.