RAIPUR: At least 17 cadres of the CPI (Maoist) were killed in a fierce gun-battle with the security forces along the inter-district border area of Sukma-Dantewada close to Gogunda hilly forest terrain, about 480 km south of Raipur on Saturday morning.
Three of the injured security personnel belong to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a unit of the state police, the fourth is from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)
Officials said that a high-ranking, dreaded Maoist, carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, is among the neutralised cadres.
After the exchange of fire stopped, bodies of 17 naxalites, including 11 women, were recovered from the encounter site.
Three DRG and one CRPF personnel sustained minor injuries in the face-off.
The injured jawans have been admitted to a hospital, and their condition was stated to be normal, he said.
A large cache of firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, self-loading rifle (SLR), INSAS rifle, .303 rifle, a rocket launcher and barrel grenade launcher (BGL), and explosive materials were recovered from the spot.
Of the killed cadres, seven have been identified so far, while efforts are underway to ascertain the identity of the others.
Kuhdami Jagdish, alias Budhra, a special zonal committee member of Maoists and secretary of Darbha division is among seven identified neutralised Naxalites, reported news agency PTI.
Jagdish was allegedly wanted in more than a dozen deadly Naxal incidents, including the 2013 Jhiram Valley attack that left several Congress leaders dead, officials added, adding that he carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh.
Six other deceased cadres include four area committee members of the Maoists. A search operation was still underway in the area.
The joint team of armed personnel engaged in the anti-Maoist operation comprised Sukma District Reserve Guards (DRG) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), a police officer said.
“We will meet our deadline on the elimination of Maoists by March 31, 2026 as fixed by our union home minister Shri Amit Shahji”, the minister affirmed. Shah is scheduled to visit Dantewada on 3 April.
This year, 132 bodies of Maoists have been recovered so far in various encounters in Chhattisgarh including 116 killed in the Bastar division.
Saturday’s encounter in Dantewada is the fifth this month in Bastar division.
Further details awaited.
Sukma, among the seven Maoist-affected districts in Bastar zone, is cited as an epicentre of Red rebels in south Chhattisgarh.
Woman injured as IED planted by Naxalites goes off in Chhattisgarh
In a separate incident in Bijapur a woman was injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in the early hours of Saturday, police said.
The blast occurred around 6:30 am near Bodga village under Bhairamgarh police station limits when the woman ventured into a forest to collect mahua fruits, an official said.
The village is on the other side of the Indravati River, more than 400 km from the capital Raipur.
As per preliminary information, the woman was returning from the forest when she came in contact with an IED, triggering the blast, he said.
The official said the woman sustained serious injuries to her legs and was rushed to the Bhairamgarh community health centre, from where she was referred to Jagdalpur for further treatment.
In May last year, two minor boys were killed in a similar incident in Bodga village, he said.
The Maoists often plant IEDs along roads, dirt tracks and forests to target security personnel patrolling in interior pockets of the Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Bijapur.
Civilians have fallen prey to such traps laid by ultras in the past in the Bastar region, police said.
28 IEDs recovered from Jharkhand village, defused
Security forces have also recovered 28 IEDs from a forest area in a Maoist-hit village in West Singhbhum district, a senior police officer said on Saturday.
A total of 23 detonators and other explosives were also seized from a Maoist hideout in the area on Friday during a combing operation, he said.
In the course of the operation, a joint team of security forces detected the Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted in Jimkiekir village in Tonto police station area, the officer said.
The IEDs were defused by a bomb disposal squad on the spot, SP Ashutosh Shekhar said.
The team also seized gunpowder along with the detonators from the Maoist dump, police said.
(With inputs from PTI)
