Muzaffarpur: A fortnight after 29 suspected Maoists were killed in what security forces count among the biggest anti-Naxal operations in recent times, 10 more were killed in another counter-insurgency action in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district Tuesday.
In an official statement issued after the encounter, Bastar Range Police said three of the 10 killed in the operation — carried out by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force — were women. Search operations were still ongoing, the statement added.
Like the 16 April operation, this one also occurred in the dense forests of Abujmarh, considered the fortress of the Maoists. According to sources in the Chhattisgarh Police, the encounter occurred between Tekmeta and Kakoor villages along the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border after intelligence inputs were received about the presence of Maoists — including politburo member Sonu, divisional committee member Joganna, and Vinay alias Ashok of the North Bastar Division/Gadchiroli Division of the banned outfit CPI (Maoist) — in the area.
In its official statement, the Bastar Range Police said that the exchange of fire between Maoists and troops of DRG and STF began at around 6 am Tuesday.
ThePrint had previously reported how security forces had ramped up their preparations in the wake of the 16 April encounter to launch strikes inside Abujmarh forests. Until that encounter in the neighbouring Kanker district, the jungle of Abujmarh was considered impenetrable for security forces, with its dense tree cover and tricky landscape giving the insurgents an upper hand.
A source in the Chhattisgarh Police told ThePrint that after they received intelligence of Maoists’ presence in the area, the DRG began a long trek towards the forest. The source added that it took the team 48 hours to reach the encounter site and that firing went on intermittently for 10 hours.
Two people — Joganna and Ashok — have so far been identified, Bastar Range Inspector General of Police Sundarraj Pattilingam said in his statement. He added that so far in 2024, 91 Maoists have been killed in Bastar, with security forces having recovered two light machine guns, four AK-47s, and other arms ammunition, explosives, and “Naxal” literature.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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