Wed Nov 19 05:36:22 UTC 2025: Okay, here’s a news article summarizing and rewriting the provided text:

Headline: Seven Maoists Killed in Andhra Pradesh Encounter, Top Leader Among Dead

Vijayawada, India – November 19, 2025 – Seven members of the banned CPI (Maoist) party were killed in an exchange of fire with police in the Maredumilli forests of Andhra Pradesh’s Alluri Sitarama Raju district early Wednesday morning, according to Additional Director General of Police (ADGP-Intelligence) Mahesh Chandra Laddha.

Among those slain was Metturi Joga Rao, also known as Tech Shankar, the CPI (Maoist) in-charge Central Committee Member of the Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) and a key figure in the Maoist organization. Other deceased include Jyothi alias Saritha, Suresh alias Ramesh, Lokesh alias Ganesh, Sainu alias Vasu, Anitha and Shammi all area committee members.

“The encounter took place around 7 a.m., and firing is continuing as of the latest reports,” ADGP Laddha stated at a press conference in Vijayawada. He confirmed that three women and four men were among the dead. He also suggested some who had escaped another encounter the day prior were killed in this incident.

This incident follows a similar encounter on Tuesday in the same district, where six Maoists, including top commander Madvi Hidma and his wife Madakam Raje, were killed. Hidma was the Central Committee Member and South Bastar Battalion Commandant of the CPI (Maoist).

Authorities are continuing efforts to identify the remaining deceased and are investigating the full circumstances surrounding the encounters. The death of Tech Shankar is considered a significant blow to the CPI (Maoist) operations in the Andhra Odisha Border region, as he was specialized in technical operations for the banned outfit, according to authorities.

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