5 killed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh

374 people, including 298 civilians and 34 policemen, have been killed by Maoists till September this year.

Maoist guerrillas killed three abducted civilians in their custody while two other cadres were gunned down by police in separate incidents in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district.

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Both the incidents took place on Sunday.

In the first, Maoist rebels killed two men and a woman in the thickly forested Abujhmad area late on Sunday after holding them captive for at least 10 hours. In the second, two guerrillas were shot dead in the Ghanora forest.

"We have three civilian casualties, but we got a major success as well. Two dreaded rebels of the Keskal Dalam, a frontal organisation of the banned Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist), were also killed," said a senior police official in Raipur.

Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) forces backed by the State Armed Forces (SAF) on Monday stepped up raids to bust Maoist hideouts in their hotbed Bijapur locality.

According to officials, 374 people have died in Maoist related violence till September this year. This includes 298 civilians and 34 policemen. In 2005, 133 civilians were killed while 46 policemen died.