Three suspected Maoists killed in gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur
With this, 12 suspected Maoists have been killed in separate operations this year.
Three suspected Maoists were killed on Sunday in a gunfight with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, the police said, according to PTI.
The gunfight began in the Indravati National Park area when security forces received information about Maoists being present in forests in the region. Personnel from the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force and District Force took part in the operation, said Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range Sundarraj P.
The official said that after an intermittent exchange of fire, the bodies of three Maoists in uniform were recovered, along with firearms.
Security forces are conducting a search operation in the area and are in the process of identifying the suspected Maoists, ANI reported.
With this, 12 suspected Maoists have been killed in separate operations in the first 12 days of the year, PTI reported.
On January 5, at least five suspected Maoists were killed and a District Reserve Guard member lost his life in a gunfight in Abujhmad area.
On January 9, three suspected Maoists were killed by security forces along the border of Sukma and Bijapur districts.
The operation came days after eight security personnel from the District Reserve Guard and a driver were killed on Monday when their vehicle was attacked by suspected Maoists in the Bijapur district.
The attack was reportedly the biggest strike by Maoists on security personnel in two years.
In the previous year, 217 suspected Maoists were killed by security forces.
Malini Subramaniam has reported for Scroll that while many of those killed in Bastar in 2024 were declared by the police to be reward-carrying Maoists, several families dispute the claim. The families claim that the persons killed were civilians.
Also read: A dead body in the forest, injured children, and other unanswered questions about Bastar encounter