Chhattisgarh encounter 16 of 31 slain ultras identified carried cumulative bounty of Rs 1.3 cr

Dantewada, Oct 5 (PTI) Sixteen of the 31 Naxalites gunned down by security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar region have been identified and they carried a cumulative bounty of Rs 1.30 crore on their heads, a senior official said on Saturday.
As many as 31 Naxalites, including 13 woman, were gunned down in an encounter with security personnel on Friday in a joint operation in Abhujmaad area in forest between Thuthuli and Nendur along Narayanpur -Dantewada inter-district border, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.
Of them, Niti alias Urmila, a woman member of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), which is the strongest formation of Maoists, was carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on her head, he said. She was the fourth DKSZC member gunned down in the state this year, he added.
She was heading the east Bastar division of Maoists, which is active at the junction of Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bastar, Bijapur and Kondagaon districts, he said.
The DKSZC handles Maoists' activities in Bastar region in Chhattisgarh besides parts of adjoining Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Telangana and Maharashtra, Sundarraj said.
Addressing a press conference, the IG said, "Of the 31 who were killed, we have identified 16 so far. Two other key cadres we have identified are Suresh Salaam and Meena Madkam. They were divisional committee members who were carrying rewards of Rs 8 lakh each on their heads. Eight ultras were members of Peoples' Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) company no. 6 and five were part of the Maoists' area committee."
"These 16 Naxalites carried a cumulative reward of more than 1.30 crore on their heads. One LMG rifle, four AK-47 rifles, six SLRs (Self-Loading Rifle), 3 INSAS rifles, one .303 bore rifle, other calibre rifles, locally fabricated weapons, items of daily use and other Maoist related materials were recovered from the encounter site. Efforts are on to identify the remaining 15 slain cadres," he added.
This operation has undoubtedly dealt a severe blow to the Maoists and their key formations, namely east Bastar division and PLGA company, and it was successfully executed by security forces despite challenging geographical conditions and a swollen river due to monsoon, the IG informed.
"A jawan of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) sustained injuries in a blast caused by the firing of an Under Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) shell by the Naxalites. He is undergoing treatment in Raipur and his condition is stated to be out of danger," the official said.
It was the highest fatalities suffered by Maoists in a single operation since the state's creation 24 years ago. The offensive comes more than five months after 29 Naxalites, including higher-ranking cadres, were gunned down in an encounter with security personnel in Kanker district.
Security forces have caused heavy damage to Naxalites in the last nine months with better coordination and strategy, police said.
So far this year, bodies of 188 Naxalites have been recovered following separate encounters in Bastar division, comprising seven districts namely Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma, the IPS officer said.
During the same period, 706 Naxalites have been arrested and 733 have surrendered in the division, he added.
Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said the main objective of police is to protect people living in the inaccessible forests and difficult geographical conditions at the junction of five districts where the Maoists' east Bastar division operates.
The focus is to get people out of the clutches of the Maoists in order to bring about development and establish peace in the region, the SP asserted.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)