Chhattisgarh: 28 Maoists gunned down in Narayanpur encounter; operation underway
With this, as many as 187 Maoists have been killed by security forces in separate encounters in the Bastar region this year.
At least 28 suspected Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh on Friday, making it the second biggest success for security forces after the April 16 encounter in Kanker district in which 29 Maoists were killed.
Inspector General of Police (IGP)Sunderaj P said that the encounter is in progress and 28 bodies have been recovered till now.
According to Bastar police, the encounter started around 1pm in the forest of Abhujhmaad on the Narayanpur-Dantewada inter-district border when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation.
Abujhmaad straddles between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, and is called the ‘unknown hill’ as the 6,000 sqkm thick forest has not been surveyed since the British era. The jungle is the epicentre of Maoist activities and about a dozen senior cadres of CPI (Maoist) are said to be still camping there.
“The encounter is still going on,” Dantewada superintendent of police Gaurav Rai, adding that Maoists have been cornered in the jungles of Thulthuli and Gevdi villages, south of Abujhmaad.
A statement issued by police in the afternoon revealed that a huge cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle and one SLR (self-loading rifle), were recovered from the encounter spot.
“Details of the exact number of weapons and ammunition is yet to be ascertained. The identification process of the deceased Maoists will be done on Saturday,” the SP added.
Rai said they had information about senior cadres of the East Bastar Division of CPI (Maoist) convening a meeting in the jungles of Thulthuli village this week and a huge gathering was happening in the jungles.
“Acting on the information, a team of district reserve guard (DRG) of Dantewada and Narayanpur was sent to the jungle for an anti-naxal operation on Thursday night,” an officer said.
Sources said more than 1,000 security personnel were engaged in the latest anti-Naxal operation launched by DRGs of both the districts.
With this encounter, a total of 187 Maoists have been gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in the Bastar region in 2024.
Major encounters this year
September 2 : Nine Maoists, including six women cadres, in an encounter in Dantewada district on Tuesday, police said.
July 2 : Five Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bastar’s Narayanpur district.
June 7 , Seven Maoists were killed and three jawans injured in an encounter in Narayanpur district.
On June 15, eight Maoists and a jawan of the Special Task Force (STF) were killed in an encounter in Narayanpur district.
On June 5, six Maoists were gunned down in an encounter in Narayanpur district.
May 23 : Seven Maoists were killed on the Narayanpur-Bijapur border by security personnel.
May 10 : At least 12 Maoists died in an encounter in Bijapur.
On April 30 : At least 10 Maoist cadres, including three women, were neutralised along the border of Narayanpur and Kanker districts.
On April 16, 29 Naxalites were gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Kanker district, they said.