Raipur: In a major success for security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division, as many as 6 Naxals were gunned down in encounter in Bijapur district, police said on November 11.
As per the preliminary information, several contingents of security forces comprising personnel from District Reserve Guard (DRG) units of Bijapur and Dantewada, Special Task Force (STF) had launched an operation after receiving credible inputs related to presence of Maoists in the National Park Area.
An encounter broke out between the Naxals and the joint team on Tuesday morning at around 10 am with intermittent firing still continuing at the site.
The joint team later recovered bodies of 6 Maoists from the spot, alongside seizing automatic weapons including Insas rifles and others. The forces have also recovered explosive materials from the site.
Those gunned down in the encounter are believed to be battle-hardened hardcore members of the proscribed Maoist’s outfit. The campaign against the extremists is still underway and more details about the gun battle are awaited.
The development came amidst Chhattisgarh deputy CM Vijay Sharma visiting Puvarti village in Sukma. The deputy CM during his visit met with the mothers of notorious Maoist commanders Madavi Hidma and Barse Deva.
Sharma also interacted with the villagers and urge them to make appeal to the Maoists who are still holding guns.
It is to be noted that the state government has taken strict measures to contain the Maoist-insurgency in Bastar and other adjoining areas of the state. More than 450 Maoists including top leaders were neutralized in encounters in the state in the past two years.
The government has also formulated a lucrative Surrender and Victim Rehabilitation policy alongside commencing various campaign aimed at encouraging Maoists to lay down arms.
Around 2100 former Naxals have so far surrendered before the authorities since November 2023, as per government.
The Union Government has announced a deadline to eliminate Maoist insurgency from the country by March 2026. According to a recent release only 11 districts in the country stands affected by red terror as of now with only three featuring in the severely-affected category.
