RAIPUR: At least six cadres of banned outfit CPI (Maoist) were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in the hilly forested terrain of Abujhmad in Narayanpur district, about 400 km south of Raipur, the Bastar police said on Friday.
“A search operation was launched by a joint team of security forces in the Abujhmad region based on intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres. An exchange of fire ensued on Friday afternoon and continued intermittently in the forest. Six bodies have been recovered so far from the encounter scene”, said the police in an issued statement.
There was however no report of any injury sustained by the forces.
As the search operation remains underway, further operational details were not shared owing to the safety concerns of the personnel engaged in anti-Maoist campaign on the ground.
The forces also recovered one AK-47, a Self Loading rifle, other weapons besides explosives materials and items of daily use from the location.
In the last 18 months, as many as 421 Maoist cadres have been killed in various encounters in the Bastar Range.
Shah has declared that the country will be Maoist-free by March 31, 2026. In this context, the series of encounters against the left-wing extremists remains a part of the renewed strategy to free the Chhattisgarh state from the influence of Maoist.
Abujhmad region in Narayanpur, among the seven Maoist-affected districts in Bastar zone, is cited as an epicentre of Red rebels in south Chhattisgarh