Chhattisgarh: Cops gunned down Maoist deputy commander in Gariaband; villager hacked to death in Bijapur

In a counter-insurgency operation in Maoist-affected Chhattisgarh, security forces gunned down a Maoist in a gunfight that took place in Karlajhar village under Jugar police station limits of Gariaband district on May 2.

It’s been reported that the security forces had got some credible intel about the presence of around a dozen Ultras between Korlaguda and Bhatapani villages adjoining the Odisha border, following which a joint team of State police and CoBRA battalion (commando battalion for resolute action), an elite unit of the CRPF has been dispatched to the location.

It was learnt that when the team reached the Karlajhar village at around 9.30 in the morning, the Maoist opened indiscriminate fire upon the forces to which they retaliated heavily; it’s been reported that an armed Maoist cadre was killed in the gunfight that lasted around half an hour.

The deceased has been later identified as Nandlal Netam, deputy commander of the Udanti LOS of the People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA), the armed wing of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist).

It’s been reported that Netam, a member of the Indagaon Area committee, worked with the proscribed organisation for 14 years and was carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakhs; the joint party has also recovered a 303 rifle along with other daily use materials from the spot.

Villager killed by Maoist in Bijapur

In another significant development on the Maoist front, a tribal youth was abducted and brutally killed by the Maoist in Bijapur of Chhattisgarh on May 2.

As per the reports, the slain youth had gone into the forest with other villagers when cadres of the CPI (M) abducted him; later, the Maoist hacked him to death and threw his body in the fields around a kilometre away from the Turram police station.

The deceased villager has been identified as Avlam Hadma (28), a resident of the Turrepara village under the Turram police station of Bijapur district; it’s been speculated that the Maoist might have killed him for being a police informer. It is to be noted that the Maoists have killed more than three dozen civilians in the state in the last two years alone.