KalingaTimes Correspondent
Malkangiri(Odisha), July 6: The search operation to trace the missing Greyhound jawans in Chitrakonda reservoir in Odisha's Malkangiri district came to an end on Sunday evening with Indian Navy personnel succeeding in lifting the ill-fated boat from below the water.

The boat had sunk when Maoists attacked a police party that was travelling in it last Sunday.

The boat, which was traced at a depth of 40 metres, was retrieved by using of huge balloons.

Hundreds of security personnel were engaged in the search operation spread over seven days.

The boat was being brought to the reservoir coast near Chitrakonda town. A motor launch was pulling the same and it was likely to reach the coast around midnight, police sources said.

On the fateful day, the boat was carrying more than 60 persons, a majority of them Greyhound jawans from neighbouring Andhra Pradesh.

While 28 persons were rescued, 24 bodies had been recovered from the spot till Sunday.

The authorities engaged in the search operation were suspecting that some more bodies of Greyhound jawans could be inside the retrieved boat.

In another development, the Special Operation Group personnel of Odisha police killed a Maoist in the forest near MV-81 under Motu police station limits of the district during early hours of the day.

The security personnel killed the Maoist while they were carrying out a combing operation in the area.

According to Superintendent of Police Satish Kumar Gajbhiye, the Maoist was killed following a gun battle between the SOG jawans and the extremists.

There were about six Maoists, including a woman, in the group. While one of them was killed, the remaining persons managed to flee the spot.