Security forces gun down 28 Naxalites in Bastar encounter

In one of the biggest operations against Maoists in Chhattisgarh, security personnel killed 28 Naxalites in a fierce encounter in the Bastar region on Friday, a senior police official said.

Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai hailed the security forces for their operation and said the “double engine” government was determined to eliminate the menace of Naxalism from the state.

The gunfight broke out around 1 pm in a forest between Thulthuli and Nendur villages in Abhujmaad on the Narayanpur-Dantewada inter-district border when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said.

Personnel belonging to the state police’s District Reserve Guard and Special Task Force were involved in the operation, he said.

Sundarraj said 28 Naxalites were gunned down in the encounter. Along with 28 bodies, a cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle and an SLR (self-loading rifle), were recovered from the encounter site, he said. Earlier, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai had said around 30 Naxalites were killed in the gun battle.

In a post on X, CM Sai said, “There is news of 28 Naxalites being gunned down in an encounter with the security forces in the border area of Narayanpur and Dantewada districts. The great success achieved by the soldiers is commendable. I salute their courage and valour.”

“Eliminating Naxalism from the state is our aim,” he added. With the latest encounter, 185 Maoists have been gunned down by the security forces in separate gun battles in the Bastar region comprising seven districts, including Dantewada and Narayanpur, so far this year, the police said.

On April 16, 29 Naxalites, including some higher-ranking cadres, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Kanker district.