Chhattisgarh: 3 Maoists, including a woman, killed in encounter in Kanker

The gun battle took place on a forested hill near Chhindkhadak village along the border of Kanker and Gariaband districts

Three Maoists carrying a cumulative bounty of ₹14 lakh were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Kanker district on Sunday, officials said.

Personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Kanker and Gariaband, along with the Border Security Force (BSF), were involved in the operation. (Representational image)

The gun battle took place on a forested hill near Chhindkhadak village along the border of Kanker and Gariaband districts, where a joint team of security personnel was carrying out an anti-Maoist operation in the morning, Kanker superintendent of police (SP) Indira Kalyan Elesela said.

Personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Kanker and Gariaband, along with the Border Security Force (BSF), were involved in the operation, he said.

The bodies of three Maoists, including a woman cadre, were recovered from the site, along with a self-loading rifle (SLR), a .303 rifle, a 12-bore gun and other Maoist-related materials.

The deceased were identified as Sarvan Madkam alias Vishwanath, secretary of the Sitanadi/Ravas area committee, Rajesh alias Rakesh Hemla, an area committee member of the Nagari area committee, and Basanti Kunkjam alias Hidme, a member of the Mainpur-Nuapada protection team.

Madkam and Hemla carried bounties of ₹8 lakh and ₹5 lakh respectively, while Kunjam had a reward of ₹1 lakh.

Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said that despite the difficult terrain and weather, security forces were working with dedication to protect life and property in line with the expectations of the government and people. He urged Maoist cadres to recognise that Maoism was on the verge of extinction and to surrender under the state’s rehabilitation policy. Those continuing violent activities, he warned, would face stern action.

With this operation, 252 Maoists have been killed in encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year. Of them, 223 were eliminated in the Bastar division, comprising seven districts including Kanker, while 27 were killed in Gariaband in the Raipur division. Two others were killed in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district in the Durg division.

On September 22, top Maoist leaders Raju Dada alias Katta Ramachandra Reddy (63) and Kosa Dada alias Kadari Satyanarayana Reddy (67), both Central Committee members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), were killed in an encounter in Narayanpur district.