Three alleged Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh’s South Sukma, Insas rifle recovered, search on for more bodies

The bodies of the suspected ultras are yet to be identified but since an Insas rifle was also recovered from the core area of Maoists, it could be an important cadre, said SP, Sukma

Three alleged Maoists were gunned down in an hour-long encounter with the security forces in the rebel hotbed of South Sukma in Chhattisgarh on Saturday evening and an Insas rifle, four country made rifles and an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) were recovered from the spot by the police in a search operation that was on till the time of writing this report.

Security forces were searching the area for more bodies after three alleged Maoists were killed in an hour-long encounter in South Sukma(HT Photo/Representative)

“The encounter took place in the jungles of Talemtla, about two km from Dornapal-Jagargonda road. The encounter lasted for about an hour and when the guns fell silent, we recovered three bodies of Maoists and arms,” said Superintendent of Police, Sukma , Shalabh Sinha.

The bodies of the suspected ultras are yet to be identified but since an Insas rifle was also recovered from the core area of Maoists, it could be an important cadre, said the SP.

The SP further added that that Maoists may have been planning to plant an IED on the road to target the security forces.

Meanwhile, combing operation has started in the area and the police are expecting to recover more bodies of Maoists in the area.

On Friday night, Dantewada police killed two alleged Maoists in an encounter in an area under Kirandul police station.

The bodies of Lachu Mandavi, who was an active member of Local Organisation Squad (LOS) of Malangir Area Committee of Maoists and one Podiya, who was gumiyapal Janmilitia commander have been recovered from the spot.

Security forces have intensified the search operations in the bordering districts due to September 23 Dantewada bypoll.

On April 9, two days before the parliamentary elections in Bastar, Bhima Mandavi, and four other accompanying him in a convoy of vehicles were killed when Maoists triggered an improvised explosive device (IED).