7 Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh encounter, police call it a ‘success’

Police also recovered one AK-47, two .303 rifles and other arms/ammunition from the spot.

Seven alleged Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Rajnandgaon district on Saturday morning.

Seven alleged Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Rajnandgaon district.(Ajay Aggarwal/Hindustan Times (Representative image))

Police also recovered one AK-47, two .303 rifles and other arms/ammunition from the spot.

“Till now we have recovered seven bodies of Maoists and searching of the area is going on. One AK-47 is recovered which means that a commander level cadre of CPI (Maoists) is killed in the encounter but identification is yet to be made,” said Director General of Police ( DGP) DM Awasthi, adding that the encounter took place in the jungles of Sitagota which comes under Bagnadi police station of Rajnandgaon district.

The encounter was carried out by a team of district reserve guard ( DRG).

The DGP further said that it is major success for Chhattisgarh police in Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) zone of Maoists.

“Since the operations in Bastar increased in last one year, the Maoists were moving towards this MMC zone hence we have started operations in this zone also and got success today,” added the DGP.

Notably, newly formed Maoist’s MMC zone (Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh), which includes districts situated at the tri-junction of these three states, has seen the presence of Vistaar Dalam, which has around 200 armed cadres in its ranks.

It is worth mentioning here that a letter recovered by the security forces in February 2017 from Bastar points to the increasing pressure in the region and shifting of forces to the MMC. The letter written to one Comrade Surendra from Comrade Somru says, “Oppression is rising. The enemy has opened 20 new camps in the bureau. Ten new camps have been opened in Darbha division in 2016. Villagers are fleeing from the area and we are working in difficult conditions.”

On July 27, seven Maoists, including three women cadres, were killed in an encounter with security forces in the jungles of Jagadalpur district. Police also recovered five weapons, including one Insas rifle from the spot, after the encounter.