The surrendered Naxalites were part of Kistaram, Bhairamgarh, Malangir and Katekalyan area committees of the Maoists in south Bastar. The 26 persons included five women as well as two girls and a boy.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) also lodged a complaint with the Election Commission seeking to quash the candidature of Lakhma for allegedly making objectionable comments against PM Modi.
Over 30 people were travelling in the bus which skidded off the road and plunged into the 40-foot-deep 'murum' mine. 12 people were killed in the accident while several others were injured.
Polling in the seat, located in the Vidarbha region, will be held in the first phase on April 19.
Those held were identified as Kunjam Hurra (24), Madvi Deva (27), Padam Pandu (26) and Podium Lakha (28) – all Jan Militia members of Naxalites, and two Maoist supporters, identified as Padam Hidma (28) and Madvi Arjun (26).
Meanwhile, bodies of the naxalites and weapons were recovered from the spot.
A light machine gun (LMG), a .303 rifle, a 12-bore gun, a large number of barrel grenade launchers and shells, and other arms and ammunition were also seized from the spot.
The names of campaigners include Congress's top leadership- National President Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra.
Along with the deceased insurgents, automatic weapons such as LMGs have been seized from the encounter site. Police parties are still present in the jungles, with search operations ongoing in the area.
The blaze occurred in a unit located in the Light Industrial Area under Jamul police station limits at around 7 pm on Monday. Following the incident, at least three fire tenders were rushed to the site to douse the flame.
Hot seats in Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, reserved for Scheduled Tribes (ST), stands as a significant electoral battleground among the state's 11 parliamentary seats.
The Naxalites set ablaze four trucks engaged in the transportation of iron ore in the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh.
According to officials, the encounter broke out in the forest area near Chikurbatti-Pusbaka in Bijapur district. It said the DRG, CRPF 229, and CoBRA teams were involved in the operation
The Congress candidate, who represents the Konta assembly constituency in Sukma district and served as a minister in the previous Bhupesh Baghel-led Congress government, has been fielded by the party in the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency.
During the encounter, the police successfully seized two weapons along with a substantial quantity of ammunition from the Naxalites. The operation signifies a significant blow to the insurgent group's activities in the region.
Based on the post mortem report, charges of sexual assault and provisions of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act were added, the official said.
Congress leader Bhupesh Baghel had termed the ED's action in the Mahadev betting app case as a "political conspiracy" and accused the federal agency of acting at the behest of its "political masters".
Hot seats in Lok Sabha Elections 2024: The 11 Lok Sabha seats in Chhattisgarh will see polling in three phases on April 19, April 26 and May 7 as per the schedule announced by the Election Commission of India.
Chhattisgarh news: The chief minister also interacted with locals in Raipur, lending a patient audience to their issues and grievances. The interaction was aimed not only at assessing the state's progress across development parameters but also gaining insight from the beneficiaries.
Surguja, located around 300 km from the capital Raipur in north Chhattisgarh, has become the first district in the state to live-stream proceedings of the collector's court.
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