These articles originally appeared in The Times of India.
39 ‘elite’ Andhra-Orissa cops feared killed in Naxal attack
30 Jun 2008, 0228 hrs IST,TNN
VISAKHAPATNAM/HYDERABAD: Maoists struck a vicious blow on Sunday, launching a rocket attack on a 64-member joint Andhra Pradesh-Orissa police party — which included the elite Greyhounds — deep in the Vishakapatnam agency area close to the Orissa border.
The cops were returning on two launches on the Sileru reservoir along the Andhra-Orissa border when the Maoists fired rockets on them from a hillock in the Bodikuttu area. The incident happened between 10.30am and 11.30am. The boat capsized drowning some cops, while others swam ashore. But the Maoists weren’t done yet: they ambushed the party. Thirty-nine cops are feared killed. Sources in Orissa put the figure at 36.
