- विज्ञापन -
Bijapur : More than 1000 soldiers killed 31 Naxalites in an encounter on the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border on Sunday. The bodies of all 31 have been recovered. The encounter took place in the Indravati National Park area of Bijapur. At present, the search operation is going on. At the same time, the dead Naxalites are also being identified.
One DRG and one STF jawan have been martyred in this encounter. Also, two jawans are injured who have been airlifted to Raipur, their condition is out of danger. Bastar Range IG Sundarraj P said that a large quantity of weapons and explosives have also been recovered from the spot.
So far this year, 81 Naxalites have been killed in Chhattisgarh, out of which 65 have been killed in Bastar division. This includes 7 districts including Bijapur. According to the police, in 2024, the soldiers killed 217 Naxalites in different encounters.
“Based on specific information about the presence of armed Maoists at the national park region of Bijapur district, a joint team of security forces comprising District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) left on anti-Maoist operation on Saturday,” said a police officer.
This encounter comes a week after eight Maoists were killed in another operation of security forces launched in Bijapur district. The gunfight in which eight Maoists were killed broke out on January 31 when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Maoist operation.
The security operations come in line with central government’s pledge to “end Naxalism” by 2026, which Home Minister Amit Shah had reiterated on January 6 after eight District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawans and one driver were killed when their vehicle was blown up by Maoists using an IED in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur.
The blast reportedly took place on the Bedre-Kutru Road in Bijapur district. The jawans of DRG Dantewada were returning in a Scorpio after a joint operation, the IG said. The joint operation was of Dantewada, Narayanpur and Bijapur, IG Bastar added. According to Chhattisgarh Police, so far this year, 49 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in the state.
Of them, 33 were killed in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Bijapur. On January 20-21, police said, 16 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in the state’s Gariaband district, which is a part of the Raipur division.
Last year, 219 Maoists were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters in the state, according to the police.
