Security forces kill 28 Maoists in encounter in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur

This is the biggest success of security forces after the April 16 encounter in Kanker district in which 29 Maoists were killed by security forces

At least 28 suspected Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Narayanpur district on Friday, police officials said.

The encounter between Moaists and Chhattisgarh Police took place in the jungles of Abujhmad in Naryanpur district of Bastar region. (HT file photo)

As per a statement issued by the Bastar police, the encounter started around 1 pm in the forest of Abhujmad on the Narayanpur-Dantewada inter-district border when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation.

Inspector General of Police , Sunderaj P said that the encounter is in progress and till now 28 bodies have been recovered.

This is the second biggest success of security forces after the April 16 encounter in the Kanker district in which 29 Maoists were killed by security forces.

Abujhmad straddles the region between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh and its name literally means unknown hill in the Gondi language; the 6,000 sq km thick forest has not been surveyed properly. It remains the epicentre of Maoist activities and about a dozen senior cadres of CPI (Maoist) are said to be still camping there.

“ The encounter is still going on. The Maoists are cornered in the jungles of Thulthuli and Gevdi villages which are south of Abujmad. The teams are still searching for bodies and the figures can increase in the next few hours,” said a senior officer.

The officer further said that the teams are still in the jungle and continuous monitoring of the encounter is going on.

The statement issued by police in the afternoon further revealed that a cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle and one SLR (self-loading rifle), were recovered from the encounter spot.

186 Maoists gunned down by security forces in Bastar

“ Details of the exact number of weapons and ammunition is yet to be ascertained . On Saturday , the identification process of the deceased Maoists will be done,” the officer added.

Police said that they had information that the senior cadres of East Bastar Division of CPI ( Maoist) had convened a meeting in the jungles of Thulthuli village this week and a huge gathering was happening in the jungles.

“Acting on the information, a team of district reserve guard ( DRG) of Dantewada district and DRG Narayanpur district were sent to the jungle for an anti-naxal operation on Thursday night,” said an officer.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said,"This major achievement by our brave soldiers is commendable. I salute their courage and indomitable spirit. Our fight to eliminate Naxalism will only end when we achieve complete success, and for this, our double-engine government is fully committed. The eradication of Naxalism from the state is our ultimate goal."

Sources said that more than 1000 security personnel were engaged in this anti-naxal operation launched by both the districts.

With this encounter, a total of 186 Maoists have been gunned down by security forces in separate gun battles in the Bastar region in 2024.