Anti-Naxal Operation Ends in Chhattisgarh; Eight Naxalites Killed

The encounter broke out at around 11 am on Thursday along the border areas of Naxal-affected Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh. Eight Naxalites have been killed in the encounter while many more are believed to have been injured.

Narayanpur: The encounter between security forces and Naxalites, which had been going on intermittently for the last 21 hours in the border areas of Naxal-affected Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh, has ended with the killing of eight Naxalites, an official said on Friday. Seven Naxalites were killed in the encounter on Thursday while many Naxalites are believed to have been injured in the encounter.

Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Prabhat Kumar and Dantewada SP Gaurav Rai have confirmed the Naxalite killings in the ongoing encounter.

An official said that while the security forces were returning from the encounter site after the search operation, Naxalites laid an ambush on the security forces and opened fire on them which was retaliated by the security forces leading to the killing of one more Naxalite. This has taken the toll of Naxalite killings to eight. The encounter started around 11 am on Thursday, which is still going on with exchange of fire still going on at the site of the encounter. During the encounter on Thursday, soldiers achieved success in Narayanpur and Dantewada as they recovered the bodies of seven uniformed Naxalites and a huge quantity of weapons.

On May 21, security forces received inputs about the presence of Naxalites in Platoon No. 16 and Indravati Area Committee in the border area of Narayanpur-Bijapur districts. Joint teams of STF along with DRG and Bastar fighters of Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bastar districts had set out on a search operation. On Thursday May 23, when the security forces approached the suspected area, Naxalites started firing on security forces who retaliated with fire triggering an encounter.

Security forces have opened a new camp in Abujhmad area of Naxal affected Narayanpur district which has put the Naxalites on the backfoot. In the last few months, more than 90 Naxalites have been killed in different encounters in Chhattisgarh.