RAIPUR: Two cadres of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in the south-western region of strife-torn Bijapur district on Wednesday, police said.
According to a senior police officer, “Based on the specific inputs regarding the presence of Maoists in the given location of Bijapur district, a joint team of security forces launched a search operation. A gunfight broke out between the security forces and the Maoists on Wednesday afternoon. The exchange of fire continues intermittently. Two bodies of Maoists have been recovered from the encounter site."
The troops out on operation in Bijapur on Wednesday comprised District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and CRPF’s elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA).
There was however, no report of any injury sustained by the forces.
The forces also recovered weapons, explosive materials and items of daily use from the location.
As the search operation also remains underway alongside the gun-battle, further operational details were not shared owing to the safety concerns of the personnel engaged in the anti-Maoist campaign on the ground, the officer said.
On Tuesday, a two-page purported press release by the banned outfit surfaced in Chhattisgarh. The spokesperson of the Central Committee of CPI (Maoist) Abhay has announced a temporary suspension of its armed struggle to facilitate peace talks, but has requested the government to declare a one-month ceasefire and halt security operations to initiate the process. In response, the state government said it was verifying the authenticity of the letter.
This year 245 Maoists have been neutralised in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far. Of them, in the Bastar division alone, the forces gunned down 216, while 27 were eliminated in Gariaband district adjoining the Odisha border. Two other naxalites were killed in Durg division.
Bijapur, among the seven Maoist-affected districts in Bastar zone, is cited as an epicentre of the left-wing extremist group in south Chhattisgarh.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah had in August last year declared that the country will be Maoist-free by March 31, 2026.