During a clash in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district on Tuesday, security forces killed 18 guerrilla combatants, including Shankar Rao, a prominent Maoist leader.
The gunfight between the Maoists and a combined squad of the Border Security Force and the District Reserve Guard of the Chhattisgarh Police occurred in the forested areas within the borders of the Chhotebethiya Police Station.
The security forces reportedly recovered 18 dead bodies of CPI (Maoist) cadres from the encounter site. Shankar Rao, the Maoist leader who was shot dead, had a ?25 lakh bounty on his head. Lalita, another senior Maoist commander has also been killed in the encounter.
Three security forces personnel including 2 BSF inspectors and a DRG soldier sustained injuries in the encounter. The condition of the DRG personnel is reported to be serious.
According to media reports, four Ak-47 assault rifles were among a host of weapons that were recovered following an exchange of fire with CPI (Maoist) cadres in North Bastar DVC near Apatola, located between Villages Kalper and Binagunda, in Kanker district. Other rifles recovered included three SLRs, two INSAS and a 303. A couple of pistols were also recovered.
An operation was launched late on Monday evening by DRG and BSF based on various intelligence inputs about Maoist movement in Binagunda and adjoining areas.
“We shared 5 inputs, including 2 inputs giving exact location (one input with GR also) of the North Bastar DVC Maoists in Binagunda area underlining the fact that it acted like a permanent camp of the Maoists since April 5,” a security forces officer told the media.
The District Reserve Guard, which was established in 2008 to counter Maoist activities in the state, and the Border Security Force are engaged in combat; the fighting started after 1:30 PM.
A Maoist and a police officer were slain in another encounter in the district last month, and the security services found a gun, some explosives, and other evidence that could be used against them.
Officials told news agency PTI that personnel from the state police units, the DRG and Bastar Fighters, along with the Border Security Force, were involved in the operation. The gunfight started when the patrolling squad was securing a wooded area when shots were fired randomly.
Three Maoists were slain in another encounter in Kanker in February.
A shootout broke out in the same district between security forces and Maoist insurgents in November of last year, during the state’s first-phase Assembly election.
Recovered at the encounter scene was an Ak-47 rifle.
The same day, during voting, Maoists opened fire on DRG employees stationed close to a polling booth in Banda, Dantewada district.
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Chhattisgarh: Top Maoist leader among over dozen killed in encounter
