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Two Maoists killed in encounter in jungles bordering Chhattisgarh’s ‘Maoist free’ Kondagaon district

The Chhattisgarh government had told Union Home Minister Amit Shah in December that both Kondagaon and Bastar districts were “Naxal-free”.

The encounter took place on Tuesday evening in Kilam-Bargum villages in Kondagaon district near its border with Narayanpur. (Representational/Express Archives)

Two members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoists) with a collective bounty of Rs 13 lakh were killed in an encounter in the jungles bordering the Kondagaon and Narayanpur districts in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region Tuesday evening. An AK47 rifle and some other “explosive material” was found, the police said.

The Chhattisgarh government had told Union Home Minister Amit Shah in December that both Kondagaon and Bastar districts were “Naxal-free”. Both districts are part of the larger Bastar region, which also comprises the districts of Kanker, Narayanpur, Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma.

Bastar is the state’s most Maoist-hit region.

The encounter took place on Tuesday evening in Kilam-Bargum villages in Kondagaon district near its border with Narayanpur, where a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters had gone following intelligence reports on the presence of Maoists.

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The deceased have been identified as East Bastar’s Divisional Committee Member (DVCM) Haldar who had a bounty of Rs 8 lakh and Area Committee Member (ACM) Rame who had a bounty of Rs 5 lakh.

This brings the total number of Maoists being gunned down this year to 140 Naxalites, with 123 of them in Bastar region alone.

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