30 Maoists, soldier killed in Chhattisgarh encounters: Police
A gunfight broke out at 7 am in the forest along the border of Bijapur and Dantewada districts, a statement issued by the police said
Raipur: At least 26 suspected Maoists and a district reserve guard (DRG) soldier were killed on Thursday in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, police said. Four more suspected Maoists were gunned down in a separate encounter in Kanker district.
“A gunfight broke out at 7 am in the forest along the border of Bijapur and Dantewada districts. A joint team of security personnel was conducting an anti-Naxalite operation under the Gangaloor police station area (Bijapur),” a statement issued by the police said.
The statement further mentioned that the bodies of the 26 Maoists were recovered along with firearms and explosives. The police said that the search is ongoing and more details are awaited.
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“The second encounter is going on at Kanker–Narayanpur border area. We have recovered four bodies and an automatic rifle till now,” said Indira Kalyan Elesela, superintendent of police (SP), Kanker.
At least 31 suspected Maoists, including 11 women, were killed in Bijapur on March 9. The Chhattisgarh police identified five of the 31 Maoists, including a divisional committee member (DVCM) of the banned CPI (Maoist), who were killed. Weapons recovered from the encounter site included one AK-47 rifle, one SLR rifle, one INSAS rifle, one .303 rifle, one .315 bore rifle, one BGL Rocket Launcher (large) with a stand, six BGL launchers, and laser printers.
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As many as 81 Maoists have been gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year. Of these 81 rebels, 65 were killed in the Bastar division, comprising seven districts, including Bijapur.
