Five CRPF jawans were injured in an IED blast during an encounter with Naxals on Wednesday.
An evacuation operation is going on in the region, said an official.
In recent years, Naxal network has been curbed yet the armed outfit is active in some parts of Jharkhand, Chhattishgarh and Odisha.
Chhattisgarh: 10 Naxalites surrender before police in Dantewada
At least 10 Naxalites, among them eight carrying cash rewards, surrendered before the police in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Dantewada district on Tuesday. The Naxalites quit the Maoist movement and surrendered under the Lon Varattu (return to your village) campaign run by the police in the district, the official said.
The surrendered Naxalites were identified as militia platoon commander Bandi alias Kolla Madkam (30), militia members Sona Madkam (53), Hemant Kawasi (26), Dudwa Korram (30), Masa Mandavi (20), Lakhma Mandavi (31), Nanda Mandavi (33), Deva alias Deepak Kashyap (31), Masa Mandavi (30) and Budhra Kashyap (36).
Eight of them were carrying bounties ranging from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000, he said. The intelligence cell of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) played a significant role in the process of surrender, the officer said. As per the state government's surrender and rehabilitation policy, necessary assistance will be provided to them, he said.
As many as 578 Naxalites, among them 145 carrying cash rewards, have surrendered in Dantewada district under the 'Lon Varratu' campaign since June 2020, the officer added.
Govt aiming to make country free of Naxalism before 2024 elections: Home Minister Amit Shah
Naxalite violence has declined over the last decade and efforts are on to rid the country of the Naxal menace before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Saturday.
Shah was speaking at a rally at Indira Stadium in Korba city of Chhattisgarh, a state affected by Maoist violence.
"Naxalite incidents declined to 509 in 2021, from 2,258 in 2009 when the Congress was in power at the Centre," Shah said.
The Narendra Modi government not only ensured that the youth (in Naxalite-affected areas) who used to pick up weapons got access to education and employment, but also worked to eliminate those who wielded weapons, he said.
“Our government's effort is to make the country free of Naxalism before the 2024 parliamentary polls,” he added.
Also Read: Chhattisgarh: US-made weapon recovered from Naxalites killed in Bijapur encounter
