Chhattisgarh encounter: Police identify two senior CPI (Maoist) cadres killed

Security forces have recovered one AK-47, one INSAS rifle, one SLR, and a 12-bore shotgun during the combing operation after the gunfight.

A day after the Narayanpur encounter, the police on Tuesday identified two out of the three neutralised ultras as senior Maoists cadres of the region, officials said. The identity of the deceased third, a female, is still in progress.

Security forces patrol a Maoist infested area. (AP File Photo)

Security forces have recovered one AK-47, one INSAS rifle, one SLR, and a 12-bore shotgun during the combing operation after the gunfight.

Narayanpur superintendent of police Prabhat Kumar stated that the operation was carried out on Monday after receiving intelligence inputs regarding the presence of Maoists in the Abujhmarh forests of Narayanpur district, on the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra inter-border.

Abujhmarh is known as an ‘unknown hill’ as the 6,000-sqkm-long thick forest has not been surveyed since the British era. The jungle is the epicentre of Maoist activities and about a dozen senior cadres of CPI (Maoist) are believed to be still camping there, according to officials.

Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P confirmed that one of the Maoists killed in the encounter has been identified as Rupesh, a member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC).

“Rupesh was the head of the western sub-zone of DKZSC, primarily operating in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district. He was also in charge of Company Number- 10 of CPI (Maoist) in the same area and carried a bounty of ₹25 lakh on his head,” the IG said.

The second Maoist was identified as Jagdish, a resident of Balaghat district (Madhya Pradesh) and was the divisional committee member of CPI (Maoist). Jagdish was carrying a reward of ₹16 lakh on his head.

“The identification of the third deceased female Maoist is still underway,” the IG said.

Since December 2023, security personnel have created 17 new forward camps in what were thus far thought to be core Maoist-controlled areas. Forces have killed 157 Maoists in 92 separate gunfights in Chhattisgarh this year. During the same period, 682 Maoists were arrested and 660 have surrendered. Meanwhile, Maoists have killed 15 security personnel and 32 civilians in the same period, officials said.