Bijapur: More than 26 Maoists including their top leader Nambala Keshavrao were killed in an encounter with security forces in the forests along the border of Narayanpur-Bijapur districts in Chhattisgarh. A police aide was also killed and a police jawan was injured in the gunfight.
‘More than 26 Naxalites, some of them probably top cadres, were killed. One supporter of the police was killed and a police jawan was injured in the action,’ said deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma, who holds the home portfolio. The encounter took place in dense forests between Abhujmad and Indravati national park area. Combing operations are still underway.
As per police, Maoists opened fire when teams of District Reserve Guards of police from four districts were out on an operation in Abhujmad area following intelligence inputs about the presence of senior cadres of the Mad division of Maoists.
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Abujhmad, a densely forested and all but unsurveyed area—bigger than Goa—is still one of India’s most inaccessible and Maoist-dominated areas. Although the majority of it is under Narayanpur, parts of it stretch into the Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, and Gadchiroli districts of Maharashtra.
The joint forces of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and state police launched 21-day Operation ‘Black Forest’ from April 20 to May 11 to shatter the backbone of Naxals near Karreguttalu Hill (KGH) at the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. It neutralised 31 Naxals who had a bounty of Rs 1.72 crore.
A total of 214 Naxal hideouts and bunkers have been annihilated in the operation. Among the seized items are 450 IEDs, 818 BGL shells, 899 Codex bundles, several detonators, and other explosive materials. Moreover, approximately 12,000 kilograms of food supplies have also been recovered.
Meanwhile, Police in eastern Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Tuesday arrested 3 women Naxalites and detained 2 minors who collectively carried a reward of Rs 36 lakh on their heads. Among those arrested were three women: Ungi Hoyam (27), a divisional committee member of Maoist ‘Platoon 32’, who had a bounty of Rs 16 lakh on her head; Pallavi Midayam (19), a ‘platoon party committee member’, with a reward of Rs 8 lakh; and Deve Podiyam (19), with a bounty of Rs 4 lakh. All three are residents of Chhattisgarh. The remaining two detainees are believed to be minors and together carried a combined reward of Rs 8 lakh.
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