Six Maoists killed in Bijapur gunfight with security forces
Chhattisgarh encounters surged in early 2024, with 37 alleged Maoists killed, compared to 22 in all of 2023, highlighting a stark escalation.
Six Maoists were killed after an encounter between the militants and joint teams of the state police and paramilitary forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday, three days after the left-wing rebels killed three civilians on the suspicion that they were informers.
The encounter is the most significant exchange of fire between the security forces and Maoists since July 2019 when seven rebels were killed in Nagarnar and comes just weeks before general elections in the state.
The incident underlines a significant uptick in encounters in Chhattisgarh in the first three months of 2024 , which have seen 37 alleged Maoists killed so far, compared to 22 in all of 2023. There were 70 encounters in all of last year. In comparison, there have been 107 over the first three months of the year, show police records.
The incident also comes three weeks before the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, under which Bijapur falls, goes to the polls in the first phase of the Lok Sabha elections on April 19. Police said the six Maoists were involved in a deadly 2021 attack on security forces that left 21 personnel dead.
Sundaraj P, inspector general of police (Bastar) range, said that on Tuesday night, the police received specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a Maoist team near the villages of Chikurbhatti and Pusbaka under the Basaguda police station area. “A team of the district reserve guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force(CRPF) and their elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) units were then sent for an anti-Naxal operation late on Tuesday night,” he said.
An exchange of fire broke out south of the Talperu river bank around 8 am and lasted around an hour, an officer said, requesting anonymity. “Once the firing ended and there was a search operation, the bodies of six Maoists were found from the spot. It is possible they suffered more casualties,” the officer said.
Chhattisgarh police officials said that Maoist teams involved in the encounter included small action teams that had carried out the killings of three villagers on a road between Basaguda and Pusbaka on Sunday.
The deceased Maoists were identified as Punem Nagesh, deputy commander of platoon 10 of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army, Gangi Kowasi, an area committee member, Vetti Soni, member of platoon 10, Sukka Oyam, commander of the small action team, Noppo Moka, section commander of the Jan (people’s) Militia and Ayatu Punem who was member of member of PLGA platoon 10.
Nagesh was a key figure in the Maoist militancy in the Bijapur region and carried a reward of ₹5 lakh on his head, , senior police officers said, while his wife Vetti Soni also carried a ₹2 lakh reward. Overall, the six dead Maoists had a reward of ₹14 lakh on them, said the officer.
“The slain Naxals were involved in several incidents including the deadly Tekalgudam attack in Bijapur on April 3, 2021, wherein 22 troopers were killed and more than 35 others injured. They were also involved in the murder of three villagers near Basaguda on Monday,” Bijapur superintendent of police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said.
Sundaraj said that the police found a carbine gun, a factory made 9mm pistol, a 12 bore gun, muzzle loading gun, 10 live cartridges for self-loading rifles, two tiffin bombs, gelatin sticks and safety fuses from the encounter spot.
Experts said that exchanges of fire in such forward regions, thus far largely inaccessible for security forces, was a sign of weakening Maoists in the state.
“Our security forces are taking the Maoists on head-on which is good for both strategy and morale. The opening of new camps is helping operations and I think more will follow in the coming months,” said former special director general of police(anti naxal operations) RK Vij.
