Three more Maoists were found dead in a forest in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region on Saturday morning following an encounter with security forces on Friday.
The total number of extremists killed in the gunfight has now reached 31 after they were trapped in a 10km radius in the forest. This is the highest number of Naxalites killed in a single operation since Chhattisgarh was carved out of Madhya Pradesh 24 years ago.
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#UPDATE | A total of 31 bodies of Naxalites have been recovered so far in the encounter. A search operation is going on. CRPF/DRG additional re-enforcement forces sent. LMG Rifle, AK 47 Rifle, SLR Rifle, INSAS Rifle, Calibre.303 Rifle and other weapons recovered. One Jawan of…
— ANI (@ANI) October 5, 2024
Bastar range police said the eliminated extremists' identity was not ascertained, but they were apparently part of PLGA (People's Liberation Guerilla Army) company No. 6, Platoon 16 of Maoists and east Bastar division of Maoists.
The security forces also recovered an AK-47 rifle, a self-loading rifle, an INSAS rifle, an LMG rifle and a .303 rifle.
The gun battle began on Friday around 1 am on the border of Dantewada and Narayanpur districts in the forest connecting Nendur and Thulthuli villages. A joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) were carrying out an anti-Maoist operation when the encounter started. A DRG personnel was injured in a blast.
Around five months ago, 29 Naxalites were neutralised in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district. These included high-ranking cadres. So far this year, a total of 188 Maoists have been eliminated by the security forces in various encounters in Bastar, a region that consists of seven disctricts.
