Hyderabad: Three junior commandos of Greyhounds, Telangana’s elite anti-Naxalite force, were killed and an assistant assault commander was critically injured in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists near the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border in Mulugu district on Thursday.This is the first instance of police casualties in anti-Maoist operations in the state since 2024 and comes a day after 22 Maoists were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur.Thursday’s ambush by a group of 40 Maoists took place around 6 am in the Wazeedu-Perur forest region, where Greyhounds and Mulugu district special police teams were conducting counter-insurgency sweeps to detect improvised explosive devices (IEDs).Director general of police Jitender, in a statement, said: “While search operations were underway in the Nugur forest near Peddagutta, 4 km northeast of Penugolu village, around 35-40 Maoists, including armed women cadres, ambushed the police and triggered landmines from a distance.This was followed by heavy, indiscriminate gunfire targeting the police team. The Maoists fled when the police retaliated in self-defence.”Sources said the insurgents may have had prior intelligence about police movements.”We received alerts regarding Maoist presence in Wazeedu. The Greyhounds team was deployed to investigate when the ambush occurred,” confirmed a senior police official.Authorities, however, denied reports that the Maoists looted weapons from the slain personnel.Maoists issued warningsMulugu district superintendent of police P Shabarish said that Maoists had planted multiple IEDs in the Karregutta forest and issued posters on April 8 warning Adivasi residents to avoid the area.”To ensure safety of Adivasi villagers, our teams have been routinely conducting bomb detection and disposal operations. During one such mission on Thursday morning, a landmine exploded, claiming the lives of three of our commandos,” the SP said.The deceased were identified as Vadla Sridhar, N Pavan Kalyan and T Sandeep, all junior commandos of constable rank. Reserve sub-inspector Ranadhir was critically injured in the gunfire and was airlifted to a private hospital in Hyderabad for treatment.The bodies of the slain commandos were transported to Warangal govt hospital for post-mortem. Minister Seethakka, Jitender, and Greyhounds chief M Stephen Raveendra paid tributes to the slain commandos.Manhunt underwayA case was registered at the Wazeedu police station under several provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, Arms Act, Explosive Substances Act, and Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.”Efforts are underway to apprehend the Maoist cadres responsible for the attack,” the DGP said.Mulugu and Bhadradri Kothagudem, which share a border with Chhattisgarh, remain the most Maoist-affected districts in Telangana. Over 250 Maoists, primarily from Chhattisgarh, have surrendered in these districts so far this year.The Greyhounds, often called India’s most effective anti-Naxalite force, are known for their precision and low casualty rates. The last fatality in the unit occurred in Feb 2024, when junior commando A Praveen was electrocuted by a poacher-laid wire trap during a sweep in Jayashankar Bhupalpally district.In Sept 2024, two commandos were injured in a gunfight in Mothe village, and in 2020, Reserve SI Aditya Sai Kumar died in an accidental discharge incident in Chennapuram forest.