India says suspected top Maoist among three killed by troops

NEW DELHI: Indian commandos shot dead three Maoist rebels on Wednesday, police said, including a suspected top commander, less than a month after the insurgent group´s chief was killed.

India is waging an all-out offensive against the last vestiges of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the Himalayan foothills where the Maoist-inspired movement began nearly six decades ago.

In the latest incident, three rebels were killed in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh, said Amit Bardar, police chief of Alluri Sitharama Raju district where the operation took place.

Police suspect the dead include Gajarla Ravi, alias Uday, a member of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist´s top decision-making body, and another senior leader, Raavi Venkata Chaitanya, alias Aruna.