Chhattisgarh encounter: 7 Maoists killed in gunfight, five weapons recovered; check details

The operation began on Wednesday night when a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Narayanpur, Bastar, and Dantewada, along with the Special Task Force (STF), launched an anti-Naxal operation.

As many as seven Maoists have been killed in an ongoing gunfight with security forces in a forest near Narayanpur, Chhattisgarh, on Thursday (May 23) according to local police. The encounter, which began around 11 am, is still in progress.

In a statement, the Narayanpur police detailed the events, explaining that the gunfight started in the forest along the borders of Bijapur and Narayanpur districts. The operation began on Wednesday night when a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) from Narayanpur, Bastar, and Dantewada, along with the Special Task Force (STF), launched an anti-Naxal operation.

They were acting on specific intelligence regarding the presence of Maoist leaders from Platoon number 16 of the CPI (Maoist) and members of the Indrawati Area Committee.

"At around 11 am on Thursday, an exchange of fire started," the statement reads. "After the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of two Maoists were recovered by Narayanpur police."

This operation is being conducted in the Abujhmaad forest, located at the tri-junction of Narayanpur, Bastar, and Dantewada districts.

"Two bodies were recovered by Narayanpur police in the morning, while in the evening, Dantewada police recovered five bodies. Five weapons were also recovered, though the grade of the weapons is yet to be ascertained," said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai. He added that the identities of the deceased Maoists have not yet been confirmed.

The Abujhmaad region, straddling the border between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, is often referred to as the 'unknown hill' due to its 6,000 square kilometers of thick, unsurveyed forest, a legacy from the British era. The forest is known as a stronghold for Maoist activities, with around a dozen senior cadres of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) reportedly still operating in the area.

This encounter marks a significant rise in anti-Naxal operations in Chhattisgarh. So far this year, security forces and state police have killed 107 Maoists in various encounters, a substantial increase from 2023, which saw 22 Maoists killed.