Top Maoist, 2 other operatives killed in Madhya Pradesh gunbattle: police

The police said Nagesh was commander of Tanda area committee of Mafalling, under Gondia-Rajnangaon-Balaghat (GRB) area of Maharashtra-Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh (MMC) corridor. Manoj and Rama were members of the area committee, they said.

The encounter comes months after Maharashtra police killed 26 Maoist operatives in MMC zone, where police say Maoists are trying to expand their base.

There are at least 13 cases registered against Nagesh in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh. Rama, a resident of Sukma in Chhattisgarh, had 12 cases against her, while Manoj had three cases against him, according to the police.

According to police, they received information about presence of a few Maoist operatives on the hills of Kharadi village, about 70 km from district headquarters Balaghat. At around 5 am, a team of 50 personnel of Hawk Force — MP’s elite combat unit — left for the village.

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“The terrain is tough and as the team was searching, they spotted a training camp of Maoists. Suddenly, the security personnel were fired upon,” a senior officer said.

The Hawk Force personnel responded with retaliatory fire, police said. Firing continued for about 45 minutes. Officers said at least 16 Maoists were present at the training camp, of whom three were killed.

According to police, during search operation after the firing died down, the body of a man dressed in combat and carrying an AK-47 was found. The deceased was identified as Nagesh. Police found two more bodies at a distance of about 150 metres — police identified them as Manoj and Rama, residents of Chhattisgarh’s Bastar and Sukma, respectively. Police claim to have seized three rifles, as many wireless sets, two combat pouches, GPS trackers and detonators among other explosives from near the bodies.

Inspector General, Balaghat, Sanjay Kumar Singh said, “There has been expansion [of Maoist activities in the area] and we are reworking our strategy with positions of our Hawk Forces improved and expanded. We have also asked the state government for more troops; the new surrender policy will also help.”

Soon after the operation, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan announced out-of-turn promotion and gallantry awards for the police team and those from the Hawk Force.