Paderu (ASR district): IN another blow to the CPI (Maoist), three top Maoist leaders were killed by security forces in an intense gun battle in the dense forests near Kondamodalu, close to Kintukuru village in Devipatnam mandal of the Alluri Sitarama Raju (ASR) district. The operation marks one of the most significant anti-Maoist strikes in the Andhra–Odisha Border (AOB) region in recent years.

The encounter, which took place early Tuesday, resulted in the deaths of three high-ranking Maoists. Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, a Central Committee member; Ravi Venka Chaitanya alias Aruna, a Special Zonal Committee member and wife of recently deceased top Maoist leader Pratapareddy Ramachandra Reddy (also known as Chalapathi Rao); and Anju, an Area Committee Member (ACM) in the AOB Special Zonal Committee.

Security forces, acting on credible intelligence, launched a swift operation in the Kondamodalu forest area after reports indicated the presence of a group of 12–16 armed Maoists. The gun battle lasted for approximately 25 minutes, during which the three Maoists were killed. The remaining cadres fled deep into the forest, prompting a massive combing operation in the surrounding areas.

Three AK-47 assault rifles and other material were recovered from the encounter site. Police officials confirmed that reinforcement units from Devipatnam police station were quickly dispatched to secure the area and support the operation.

Gajarla Ravi alias Uday, a veteran Maoist operative since the 1980s, was previously involved in peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government and had a Rs 25 lakh bounty on his head. Aruna, who carried a Rs 20 lakh reward, was accused in the high-profile 2018 assassination of then MLA Kidari Sarveswara Rao and former MLA Siveri Soma near Dumbriguda. She hailed from Karakavani Palem in Pendurthi mandal, Visakhapatnam district.

Police said that the bodies of the deceased Maoists were shifted to Rampachodavaram Area Hospital for post-mortem examination.

A senior police official hailed the operation as a significant success in the fight against Maoist extremism in the region. The elimination of key leadership figures is expected to severely impact the strategic and operational capacities of Maoist units in the AOB zone, which has been a long-standing stronghold.

Combing operations are ongoing to trace the fleeing Maoists, and police have appealed to local villagers to cooperate and share any suspicious movements or information.