RAIPUR: Seven Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces at Matewahi village in strife-torn Narayanpur district close to the border of Dantewada in south Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.
According to the Narayanpur district police chief Abhishek Meena, a joint team of district police force and specially trained District Reserve Guards (DRG) acting on a tip-off launched a search operation on Monday night.
“We got reliable inputs from our sources about the movement and meetings of the Red Brigade in the region, following which the forces were sent to search. As the troopers reached the hideout on Tuesday, the Maoists opened fire. The attack was retaliated killing seven rebels in an encounter that continued for over an hour. The remaining fled into the nearby jungles”, Meena said.
Though forces chased the remaining Maoists inside the forest for some distance, they managed to flee, the officer added.
However, there is no report of any injury sustained by security forces. The seven bodies of the rebels were recovered by the police and brought to the Narayanpur district headquarters for identification.
The police also recovered two INSAS rifles, two grenades, some literature and items of daily use from the encounter site.
The remote interior areas in Bastar happens to be densely forested and a rebels’ stronghold. Maoists are present in at least 16 of the 27 districts of the state but are most active in seven districts of Bastar zone in south Chhattisgarh.