A Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bijapur district on Sunday, according to police officials. With this incident, 80 Naxalites have been killed so far this year in separate encounters with security forces this year in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, encompassing seven districts, including Bijapur.
The gunfight erupted in a forest near Keshkutul village under the jurisdiction of Bhairamgarh police station around 5:30 am when the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was conducting an anti-Naxal operation, a senior police official informed PTI.
The operation was initiated based on intelligence regarding the presence of Kawasi Pandaru, the division supply team commander of Maoists, along with 15-20 other insurgents in the Keshkutul-Keshmundi forests, located approximately 400 km from the state capital Raipur.
Upon cessation of the gunfire exchange, the body of a Naxalite, along with a weapon and explosives, was recovered from the site, the official stated. Search operations are still ongoing in the area.
Earlier, on April 16, 29 Naxalites, including 15 women, were killed in an encounter near Kalpar and Hapatola villages under the Chhotebethiya police station limits in Kanker district. Three security personnel were injured in the skirmish.
According to police, 14 of the Naxalites killed in the Kanker encounter were affiliated with the warfare unit of the outlawed CPI (Maoist). The process of identifying the deceased Maoists, which commenced four days ago, was nearly completed on Saturday, police said.
Among the neutralized insurgents were Shankar Rao, a divisional committee member of the north Bastar division committee of Maoists, his wife Rita, an area committee member from Telangana’s Warangal and Adilabad districts, and Surekha, a member of the MMC zonal committee from Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district.
