Eight Naxalites killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district

According to police, the gunfight broke out around 8.30 am in the forest in Gangaloor police station area when a joint team of security personnel was out on an "anti-Naxalite operation."
Image used for representational purposes.
Image used for representational purposes.
Updated on
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RAIPUR: Eight cadres of the banned outfit CPI (Maoist) were killed in an intense gun battle with the security forces in an edgy district of Bijapur district, about 400 km south of Raipur on Saturday, said the police.

“Based on specific information about the presence of armed Maoists in the remote forest area, a joint team of security forces comprised District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and Special Task Force (STF) left on anti-Maoist operation from Gangaloor on January 31.

On Saturday morning, there ensued an exchange of firing between the troops and the Maoists. After the encounter, the forces have recovered eight bodies”, said a police officer who further added that the casualty count of the red rebels may rise further.

The forces also recovered an INSAS rifle, Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) besides other weapons from the scene.

The slain cadres were stated to be members of West Bastar Division of Maoists. The hunt through operations for Maoists has been intensified in the region. The bodies of the Maoists will be identified after they are brought to the district headquarters, the officer added.

There has been no report of any security personnel sustaining injuries in the encounter and further details were awaited.

This year, fifty bodies of Maoists have been recovered in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh.

In the year 2024, the Maoists suffered the biggest setback in their revolutionary history in conflict-ridden Bastar where 219 Maoists have been neutralised.

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 the outlawed Maoists. Bijapur remains one of the worst Maoist-affected districts in Bastar and is being cited as an epicentre of left-wing extremists in south Chhattisgarh.

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