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.

They were identified as Chandru and Unnimaya.

In a separate incident last month, a group of six armed Maoists took control of a private resort in Makkimala, Wayanad.

They seized the manager's mobile phone to convey a statement to the media about issues faced by estate workers. The police registered a case under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Arms Act in connection with this incident.

There have been recent reports indicating suspected Maoist presence in various forest-fringe hamlets in northern Wayanad and Kannur districts.

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