Amid a major crackdown against the Naxalite movement in Chhattisgarh, police on Sunday said a Naxalite was killed in an encounter broke out in Bijapur district today. According to the police statement, the encounter broke out in the wee hours (around 5:30 a.m.) of Sunday in a forest near Keshkutul village under Bhairamgarh police station when the District Reserve Guard (DRG) were out patrolling for anti-naxal operations.
Significantly, police said, the operation was carried out based on the inputs confirming the presence of Maoists in the region. Police said they have received input about the presence of the division supply team commander of Maoists, Kawasi Pandaru, and 15-20 other cadres in Keshkutul-Keshmundi forests, located around 400 km from the state capital Raipur.
Meanwhile, a search operation is currently underway in the area, and so far, a body of naxalite, a weapon, and explosives have been recovered from the spot.
It is pertinent to note that, today's operations come on the heels of Chhattisgarh's Kanker operation, where at least 29 Maoists were killed and at least three Jawans sustained injuries in the district on Tuesday.
Earlier, speaking to the media, SP Indra Kalyan Elisela confirmed the deaths of Naxalites in the encounter, including a prominent Naxal commander named Shankar Rao. He had a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head. Additionally, a significant cache of weapons, including four AK-47 rifles, was seized during the operation.
IG Bastar P. Sunddaraj, elaborating on the Kanker operation, added, "Today a team was sent to the Kanker district after receiving information of the presence of senior cadres of CPI Maoist. During the search, an encounter broke out between the security personnel and the Naxals. Till now, the bodies of 29 CPI Maoist cadres have been recovered. Huge arms and ammunition have been recovered. All the injured security personnel are under treatment. This could be seen as one of the biggest encounters till now in the statee."
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