RAIPUR: At least 30 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters in Bijapur and Kanker districts of Bastar division on Thursday. A securityman also died in the gunfight.
Bastar range IG P Sundarraj told TOI that the bigger encounter was in Bijapur’s Gangaloor, a hotbed of insurgency that has seen much bloodshed. This is the first major operation in Gangaloor after the March 3 surrender of Maoist commander Dinesh Modiyam, who called the shots in the area. As many as 26 of Modiyam’s ex-comrades were killed in the encounter. The operations in Bijapur & Kanker – nearly 300km apart – were launched simultaneously.
In just 80 days, 113 Maoists have been killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh – 91 of them in Bijapur. Last year, 287 Maoists were neutralised in the Bastar division.
Union home minister Amit Shah lauded the forces’ bravery, saying: “Our soldiers have achieved another major success in the direction of ‘Naxal-Free India Campaign‘. Many Naxals were killed in two operations by our security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur and Kanker. Modi govt is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxals, and despite various facilities for surrender and inclusion, it is adopting a zero-tolerance policy against those Naxals who refuse to surrender. The country is set to be Naxal-free by March 31 next year.”
Sundarraj said a joint team of Bijapur and Sukma District Reserve Guards (DRG), CoBRA commandos and CRPF personnel set out on an operation in Gangaloor based on specific inputs about the presence of Maoists.
The first exchange of fire took place around 7am and intermittent firing went on till after noon.
When the guns fell silent, the forces found 26 dead Maoists scattered across the battleground.
Police also rounded up a group of senior cadres in the forest, sources said, adding that the search is still under way.
The body of DRG jawan Raju Oyam, who was killed in the encounter, has been evacuated. “His sacrifice will not go in vain,” chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, adding, “Our fight against Naxalism continues with great strength.”
In Kanker, a joint team of DRG and BSF hit Maoists of North Bastar Marh division. Four bodies were found in the forests along the borders of Kanker and Narayanpur districts, Kanker SP Kalyan Elesela said. A large quantity of explosives and several sophisticated weapons, including Insas, AK-47s and SLRs, were recovered from the two sites.
IG Sundarraj said that multiple operations were carried out simultaneously in different parts of Bastar with the focus on Maoists of South Bastar division in Bijapur, Sukma and Dantewada. Bastar police said that the operation is still under way in forests bordering Bijapur and Dantewada districts.
