Sukma encounter: In a major success, at least ten Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Friday, said official. The gunfight started in the morning in a forest within the jurisdiction of Bhejji police station when a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation.
Security personnel also recovered an AK-47 rifle, an INSAS rifle, and an SLR rifle following an exchange of fire with Maoists from the South Bastar Divisional Committee (DVC) in the forest area near Bhandarpadar village, approximately 10 km southwest of the Bhejji police station.
Union Home Minister had announced in August this year that Left Wing extremism will be completely eliminated in the country before March 2026. This is a big success towards totally eliminating LWE before March 2026.
Five Naxalites killed in encounter in Bastar
Earlier on November 18, security forces neutralised five Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Bastar Kanker region last week. Providing details of the Naxalites, the police official on Monday said that the Naxalites were from senior cadres carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 28 lakh.
These Naxalites, police claimed included two women. They were gunned down in an encounter with security personnel during a joint anti-Naxal operation in the Abhujmaad area along the Narayanpur-Kanker inter-district border on Saturday.
The official said that the security personnel also recovered arms including, an SLR (Self-Loading Rifle), an INSAS rifle, a 12-bore rifle and a .315-bore rifle, a barrel grenade launcher (BGL) and a huge cache of explosives items from the encounter site.
257 naxalites killed since Jan 2024
Since January 2024, a total of 257 Naxalites have been neutralized, 861 arrested, and 789 surrendered. There has been a significant reduction in deaths due to Naxal violence, with a 90 per cent reduction from the peak of 1,005 deaths in 2010 to just 96 by September 2024. Notably, for the first time in four decades, the number of deaths fell below 100 in 2022.
Security forces have successfully neutralised 14 top Naxal leaders and addressed the security vacuum in former Maoist strongholds by establishing 279 new camps since 2019, strengthening the security grid.
Also Read: Five Naxals killed, two security personnel injured in intense encounter in Chhattisgarh
