Gadchiroli (Maharashtra), April 24: The security forces have recovered at least 11 more bodies of suspected Maoists from the Indravati River here early on Tuesday, official sources said.

The bodies, which were bloated and have started to decompose, were found floating on the banks of river which flows along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh borders.

These 11 Maoists are believed to be from among those who managed to escape to the forests during a gunfight with security forces on Sunday. They must have succumbed to their injuries, an official declining to be identified told IANS.

Searching and combing operations in the entire Gadchiroli district, which has been virtually sealed by the security forces, continues in the jungles, villages, hills and valleys to track and snuff out the Maoists from their hideouts.

At least six Maoists were gunned down in a fresh gunfight in the district, barely 36 hours after Sunday's encounter which left 16 rebels dead.

The fresh encounter took place late on Monday in the Rajaram Kahnhila village in Jimlagatta with the crack commandos of the C-60 force.

A high-ranking commander of the Aheri Dalam, identified as Nandu, is among those killed.

Jimlagatta is 60 km from the scene of Sunday's ambush in which 16 Maoists including three of their high-ranking commanders and seven women were killed.

Other Maoist-infested states besides Maharashtra -- Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana are on a state of high alert, ever since the state security forces here launched their biggest anti-Maoist operations in around four decades.

 

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Kolkata (PTI): The West Bengal Medical Council (WBMC) on Thursday cancelled the registration of RG Kar Medical College and Hospital's former principal Sandip Ghosh, an official said.

Ghosh, who is in CBI custody, has been removed from the list of registered medical practitioners maintained by the WBMC, he said.

His licence was cancelled under various provisions of the Bengal Medical Act of 1914, the official said.

He is an orthopaedic surgeon and without the licence, he cannot practice.

Ghosh was arrested by the CBI on September 2 for his alleged involvement in the financial irregularities at the hospital amid the protests over the rape and murder of the on-duty trainee doctor. He was later accused of evidence tampering in the rape-murder case.

Aniket Mahato, one of the leading faces of the junior doctors who have been agitating over the death of their colleague, described it as a "victory".

"This is a victory for our deceased sister. The cancellation of Ghosh's medical registration should have been done the very next day of his arrest. We are happy that the West Bengal Medical Council has finally taken this step," he said.

The West Bengal Doctors' Forum (WBDF), however, described the decision to cancel Ghosh's medical licence as an "eyewash" and an "attempt to save him".

"Registration of Sandip Ghosh has been cancelled as per rules 25 a (2) of the Bengal Medical Act 1914. As per these rules, two-thirds of the council members must vote in favour of the decision to cancel the registration of any medical practitioner. In the case of Ghosh, no such meeting was conducted. Also, at present, a quorum is not possible due to the resignation of a few members and the death of one member. So this order is legally not tenable and just an eye wash," Dr Rajiv Pandey of the WBDF told PTI.

Claiming that the registrar of the council cancelled the licence on verbal communication of WBMC president Sudipta Roy, Pandey said it "was not acceptable".

Ghosh was appointed the principal of the RG Kar Medical College in February 2021. Amid the protests, he resigned from the post.

The notice regarding the cancellation of Ghosh's registration was sent to his Beliaghata and New Town residences.