Chhattisgarh: At least 14 Maoists were killed in an encounter with the Chhattisgarh Police near the state’s border with Odisha in Gariaband district, as confirmed by the police on Tuesday. Among those killed were two women Maoists who were neutralized on Monday during the same operation. One of the slain Maoists carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore, while officials suggested that the death toll might rise as the operation is still ongoing.
Details Of The Encounter
The encounter began late Monday night and continued into the early hours of Tuesday in the forests under the Mainpur police station area, located near the Chhattisgarh-Odisha border. Reports indicate that 12 Maoists were killed during the fresh exchange of fire, adding to the two killed earlier. A CoBRA commando was also injured in the initial phase of the operation, as reported by the Hindustan Times.
The operation involved a joint team comprising personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), CoBRA commandos from Chhattisgarh and the Special Operation Group (SOG) from Odisha. Acting on intelligence inputs regarding the presence of Maoists in the Kularighat reserve forest in Chhattisgarh, just 5 km from Odisha’s Nuapada district, the forces launched the crackdown on January 19.
During Monday’s operation, a huge cache of weapons, ammunition, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs), including a self-loading rifle, was seized. Officials stated that the operation is part of the central government’s intensified efforts to eliminate Naxalism by 2026, a goal reiterated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah following the loss of eight DRG jawans and a driver in a Maoist IED attack in Bijapur district on January 6.
IED Attack Killed 8 Earlier This Month
The January 6 incident, which occurred on the Bedre-Kutru Road in Bijapur, was the deadliest Maoist attack on security personnel in two years. In that attack, Naxalites ambushed a Scorpio vehicle carrying DRG jawans returning from a joint operation involving personnel from Dantewada, Narayanpur and Bijapur. The explosion killed all nine occupants.
This operation against Maoists follows another high-profile attack on April 26, 2023, in neighbouring Dantewada district, where ten police personnel and a civilian driver were killed when their convoy was targeted with an IED.
