RAIPUR: Security Forces on Friday, October 4 tasted a major success in forested zone of Abujhmaad, a geographical stretch notorious for Maoist’s presence and bastion of its armed wing People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA).
The offensive launched by a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force on credible inputs eventually culminated in significant losses to the extremist group which often justify the violence unleashed by its cadres, branding their violent campaign as struggle of marginalized.
Around 1500 personnel of separate units were involved in the major campaign under which the personnel covered a distance of around 30 kilometers on foot, crossing over culverts, difficult hilly terrain amidst poring rains to reach the destination where they eventually came face to face to the Maoists.
The gun battle which lasted for several hours resulted in major success for the security forces who managed eliminate a total of 31 Maoist cadres, mostly belonging to PLGA battalion no 06, a unit under the East Bastar Division of the banned group.
A cache of weapons, ranging from AK-47 to Self-Loading Rifles, Insas Rifles, and Light Machine Guns (LMGs) are also recovered from the gun battle site, signifying the kind of weaponry possessed by the extremists.
Most successful encounter since creation of Chhattisgarh
The police received credible intelligence about the presence of around 50 Maoists cadres of East Bastar Division, including of a few top commanders. Following the input, a plan was made and joint teams of DRG and STF were dispatched from two Orchha of Narayanpur and Barsur of Dantewada on Thursday, October 3.
The personnel travelled for around 24 hours to reach the pinpoint location near Thulthuli and Nendur village of Maad region, a heavily forested area on Friday’s afternoon. They encircled the Maoists in a stretch of over one kilometer, engaging the latter in a gunfight, leading to significant fatalities on the Maoist side.
The exchange of fire lasted for around 7-8 hours amidst intermittent firing from both sides. A total of 28 bodies of Maoists in uniform were recovered after the gunfight on Friday. At the break of the dawn, three more bodies were recovered, increasing the tally to 31.
Those killed in the action reportedly includes of Dandkaranya Sepcial Zonal Committee (DKSZC) members carrying heavy reward by the government. This includes top commanders like Neeti and Suresh Salaam.
Notably a total of 188 Maoists have been killed during separate gunfight between the security personnel and the Maoists in the state in this year alone, reflecting the impact of the renewed strategy adopted by the forces in tackling the red terrorism in hinterlands of Bastar.
Major operations carried out by the forces this year
- 13 Maoist killed in an encounter after the forces launched a counter-insurgency operation in Korcholi of Bijapur on April 3.
- 12 extremists were neutralized in a major offensive launched by a joint team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and DRG in Pidia village under Gangloor police station limits of Bijapur district on May 10.
- 29 Maoists including a few top cadres of the extremist group were gunned down following a fierce gun battle in forest area of Binnaguda- Korgutta under Chotebethiya police station limits of Kanker district on April 16. A huge cache of weapons was subsequently recovered from the site of encounter
- 10 Maoists including of three female cadres neutralised in an encounter near Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh bordering area on April 30.
- 9 cadres, mostly belonging to West Bastar Division of the proscribed group were killed in action following an exchange of fire between the Maoists and a joint team of security forces in Lohagaon Pidia area near inter-district borders of Bijapur and Dantewada districts on September 3, assortment of weapons seized.
