Two women Naxalites carrying a collective bounty of Rs 6 lakh have been killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, police said on Thursday.
The gunfight broke out late Wednesday evening in a forest under Kohkameta police station limits in Abhujmaad area when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, said Sundarraj P, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range.
District Reserve Guard (DRG) personnel from Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts, a Special Task Force (STF) and 41st and 45th battalions of the Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) were involved in the operation, launched after inputs about the presence of senior cadres of the Maad division of Maoists, he said.
“The bodies of two women Naxalites were recovered from the spot in the morning,” the official said.
The neutralised Naxalites, both residents of Sukma district, have been identified as Seema, a member of the Kutul area committee of Maoists, and Linge, alias Ranjhu, a party member in the Kutul local organisation squad, he said.
While Seema carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh, Linge carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh, he said.
Detailed information is being collected regarding their roles in the Maoist organisation and the criminal cases registered against them, the official said.
One INSAS rifle with eight rounds and one magazine, one country-made .315 bore rifle with four rounds, fifteen rounds of .303 rifle ammunition, a large quantity of explosive materials, Maoist literature, and various daily-use items were recovered from the spot, he said.
“Security forces are fully committed to continuing the anti-Maoist operations even during the monsoon season. The banned and unlawful CPI (Maoist) has no option left but to surrender and renounce violence,” Sundarraj said.
He appealed to the Maoists to immediately give up armed activities and join the mainstream, warning that they would face strict action and severe consequences if they failed to heed the request.
With the latest action, 214 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year. Of them, 197 were eliminated in the Bastar division, which includes districts of Bijapur, Bastar, Kanker, Konadagaon, Narayanpur, Sukma, and Dantewada.
Notably, anti-Naxalite operations have been intensified in Chhattisgarh since the BJP was elected to power in the 2023 assembly polls, with over 420 Maoist cadres, including senior functionaries, being gunned down by security forces in separate encounters during this period.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has repeatedly declared that under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the government is committed to eradicating Naxalism from the country by March 31, 2026.
Security forces achieved a major success on May 21 when they neutralised Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju (70), general secretary of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), in the Bastar region.
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