Eight Naxalites were killed in a gun battle that also left a jawan from the Special Task Force dead in the Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Saturday, the police said.
The joint anti-naxal operation was carried out by personnel from the District Reserve Guards (DRG) and the STF, from the four districts of Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Kanker and Dantewada, along with the 53rd Corps of the Indo Tibetan Border Police. The gunfight began at 7 a.m. in the forest of Abhujmad, as security personnel were cordoning off the area, followed by intermittent firing till the afternoon in the forests of Kutul, Farsebeda and Kodtameta villages.
“After the encounter, during the search of the spot by the security forces, a total of eight Maoist bodies and a large quantity of weapons and other Naxal material including INSAS rifle, .303 rifle, BGL launcher have been recovered so far. The Maoist bodies recovered after the encounter are being identified. There is a strong possibility of more Naxalites getting injured or killed in this encounter,” a police officer said.
‘Committed to eliminating Naxals’
On the casualties suffered by the force, the officer said that one “STF jawan has been martyred by the bullets of the Maoists and two other STF jawans have been injured” but added that the injured jawans were out of danger.
Also read:29 Maoists shot dead in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker
Since the beginning of 2024, anti-Naxal operations have been intensified in the State, with a total of 131 Naxals being killed, 22 civilians dead in Naxal violence, and 10 security personnel killed by Naxals. The latest anti-Naxal operation in this series in Abujhmad began on June 12 in areas such as Kutul, Farasbeda and Kodtameta, the officer added.
Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai said his government is fully committed to eradicating the Naxal threat. “The Naxalites are frustrated by the strict action taken against them. Our government is fully committed to eliminating them, and we will not sit quietly until the target is achieved,” he said in a post on X.
