Narayanpur/Dantewada (Chhattisgarh): Authorities in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region reported the recovery of three more Naxalie bodies on Saturday morning, following a fierce encounter with security forces on Friday. With this, the number of Naxalites killed in the encounter has risen to 31 and the search operation is still underway in the area.
Inspector general of Police for the Bastar range, Sundaerraj P, confirmed the discovery, stating, "The bodies were found in the dense forest where the encounter occurred." While the identities of the Naxalites have not yet been confirmed, preliminary investigations suggest they may belong to the People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA), Company No 6, Platoon 16, of the Maoist faction operating in the eastern Bastar division.
The encounter, which started at around 1 PM, occurred on the border area of Narayanpur and Dantewada, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai.
Additional Superintendent of Police RK Barman confirmed that the bodies of 28 Naxals were recovered from the spot.
Narayanpur Superintendent of Police Prabhat Kumar said that the bodies of the Naxals were recovered and the entire picture would be clear once the soldiers returned from the forests. According to the police, there was intermittent firing from both sides in the area.
Gaurai Rai further said that a huge cache of weapons including an AK-47 and an SLR has been recovered from the spot. "Search operations are still going on in the area," added Rai.
According to the police, the force was out on a routine search operation in the forest, during which the soldiers got information about the presence of Naxalites. "As soon as the force moved forward, the Naxalites started firing. The soldiers also gave a befitting reply to the Naxalites. The joint team of Narayanpur and Dantewada police party remained stationed at the encounter site," police added.
The deceased include DVCM Niti and DVCM Kamlesh, on whom the state government had kept a bounty of Rs 8 lakh each. SP Prabhat Kumar and SP Gaurav Rai are keeping a close tab on the developments.
Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai complimented the police and security forces for the action. The Chief Minister said, "This major achievement by our brave soldiers is commendable. I salute their courage and indomitable spirit. Our fight to eliminate Naxalism will only end when we achieve complete success, and for this, our double-engine government is fully committed. The eradication of Naxalism from the state is our ultimate goal."
The force has killed 164 Naxalites so far in encounters this year in seven districts of the Bastar region in Chhattisgarh.
Major Naxal Encounters in the recent past:
July 17, 2024: 12 Naxals were killed in an encounter in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district. Several automatic weapons were also recovered. The Maharashtra Police launched a massive operation from Gadchiroli after being tipped off about nearly 15 Maoists camping near the Vandoli village close to the Chhattisgarh border.
April 16, 2024: Security forces gunned down at least 29 Maoists in an encounter in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. The deceased included 'senior commanders' Shankar Rao, Lalita and Vinod Gawde, who carried a combined bounty of Rs 24 lakh. The Union Home Ministry provided the forces with the exact grid location of a division of Maoists, who had been camping in the Binagunda area since April 5.
November 13, 2021: 26 Maoists were killed during a fierce encounter with the Maharashtra Police in the deep forests near Dhanora in Gadchiroli district.
April 23, 2018: In Maharashtra Gadchiroli police gunned down 40 Maoists in two different encounters. While 34 were killed in the Boria-Kasnasur area of Etapalli tehsil, six from the same group were gunned down while on the run in Aheri tehsil.
24 to 27 October 2016: In one of the deadliest ever episodes involving the Communist Party of India (Maoist), 30 of its cadres were killed, on October 24, 25 and 27, in the interiors of the Eastern Ghats close to the Chitrakonda dam in Odisha’s Malkangiri district. The operation, conducted by the Greyhounds of Andhra Pradesh jointly with the Odisha Police, started with the busting of an Andhra Odisha Border (AOB) Special Zonal Committee meeting of the Maoist party at Ramguda village on the morning of October 24. Central paramilitary forces were also part of the operation.
November 21, 2014: At least 15 Maoists were killed and 25 grievously injured in an encounter with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) in the Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.
June 29, 2012: At least 20 Naxalites, including a woman, were killed in a fierce overnight encounter in the dense jungles of Dantewada in Chhattisgarh that left six jawans wounded. The encounter, which took place in the forests of Silger, an uncharted Maoist zone between the naxal hotbed of Jagargunda and Basaguda in Bijapur district of Bastar region, was launched on June 28th night in a joint operation by over 300 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Chhattisgarh police personnel from three directions.
July 10, 2007: At least 20 Maoists were killed and nine security personnel were injured in a fierce gunbattle in a jungle in Naxal-infested Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh. The gunbattle erupted at the Elampatti-Regadgatta jungle after CRPF and Special Police Force launched an operation to flush out the ultras from there.
