At least eight Naxalites have been killed in an anti-naxal operation launched by security personnel on May 21 in a forest along the Narayanpur-Bijapur inter-district border in Chhattisgarh. Seven Maoists were killed on Thursday, while another was shot dead on Friday.
This comes after security personnel were returning to their base when Naxalites fired on a patrolling team of the Special Task Force, leading to a gunbattle between the two sides on Friday morning, reported news agency PTI.
Also Read | Chhattisgarh: 7 Naxalites Killed in Encounter With Security Personnel in Bijapur.
Large quantities of weapons have been recovered. "Operation Jal Shakti was launched in three districts of Dantewada-Narayanpur-Bastar... Dantewada DSP was leading the team... This operation was carried out in the bordering area of Dantewada-Narayanpur-Bijapur. We had information on the presence of Platoon-19 Naxalite. In the 72 hours of operation, there was an exchange of fire nearly 7-8 times. We recovered the bodies of nearly 8 Naxalites. Additionally, we recovered the tiffin bomb, pressure cooker IED, uniform, and literature. Their training cam was also destroyed," said Dantewada SP Gaurav Rai.
Arms and Ammunition Recovered
The STF personnel were part of a joint squad of security forces that had gunned down seven Naxalites in an encounter in the Pallewaya-Handawada area along the Bijapur-Narayanpur border on Thursday.
DSP Rahul Uikey said, "...There was information that there were 40-45 naxals present so we cordoned off the area. As we started cordoning the area, they started firing and lit firecrackers to inform others that security force was coming...we caught around 18 people and they are being interrogated."
After the firing stopped, the body of a Naxalite in 'uniform' was recovered from the spot. With the latest incident, 113 Naxalites have been killed so far this year in separate encounters with security forces in the state.