Weeks before Lok Sabha polls in Bastar, security forces kill 13 Maoists in biggest op since 2017

A day before, a joint team of District Reserve Guards (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) had started a search operation in the Gangalur area.

After the encounter which went on for hours, the police found four bodies and by evening the number of bodies found went up to 10. On Wednesday morning, the police found bodies of three more women, taking the toll to 13.

A senior official said this is the biggest anti-naxal operation since 2017 when eight Maoists were killed in a forest on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border.

Inspector General of Police for Bastar range, Sundarraj P, said, “Among the 10 killed, nine are men and one woman. So far, we have recovered one Light Machine gun (LMG), one .303 rifle, one 12-bore gun, a alrge number of Barel Grenade Launchers (BGL) and BGL shells and other arms and ammunition. We are trying to identify them. We suspect they are cadres of (PLGA) coy No 02.”

Another senior official said: “The area where the encounter took place was a stronghold of Maoists and majority recruitment of the cadres was done from here due to security and administration vacuum. Secondly, the spot was a transit route for Maoists moving from south Bastar to Abujmad.”

Additional Director General (Naxal operations) Vivekanand Sinha said: “Our continuous efforts have paid off. This operation has broken the backbone of Maoists. This is a message to the cadres to return back to the mainstream. I appeal to them (Maoists) to surrender…”

The figures obtained by Chhattisgarh police reflect a massive jump in the anti-naxal operations in Chhattisgarh this year after the new government came to power. The operations of the security agencies saw a surge after Union Home Minister Amit Shah took a review meeting, asking forces and all stakeholders to end the Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the next three years. Earlier this year, security forces from other states were brought in to assist the forces in the ongoing operations.

In 2023, as many as 24 naxals were killed and 17 new police camps were established. This year, 43 Maoists have already been killed and 19 new police camps have been set up. Police said the camps will fill the administration vacuum in taking the benefits of the government schemes to the masses.

Among the 43, Bijapur 27 were killed in Bijapur, five each in Dantewada and Kanker, four in Sukma and two in Narayanapur. Out of the 19 camps, eight are in Bijapur, six in Sukma, three in Narayanpur and one each in Kanker and Dantewada. The police have also arrested 181 Maoists and another 120 Maoists surrendered.