Bastar encounter: 29 Maoists killed three days ahead of Lok Sabha polls

Just three days before the first phase of Lok Sabha elections, Chattisgarh’s Bastar witnessed a fierce gunbattle between security personnel and Maoists in which 29 Maoists were killed and three security personnel were injured.

The gunbattle on Tuesday in a forest in Kanker district of Bastar division in Chhattisgarh saw the highest number of Maiost casualties in a single operation.  The encounter site is located more than 15 kilometers from Bechaghat on the tri-junction of Kanker and Narayanpur districts of Chhattisgarh and Gadchiroli in Maharashtra.

Bastar is set to vote on April 19 and Kanker on April 26.

The injured personnel include two from the BSF and one from the DRG. The encounter took place under the jurisdiction of the Chhotebethiya police station. 

“The encounter site is a trijunction area between Abujhmad, Gadchiroli district in Maharashtra, and north Bastar. We had information of senior cadres like Lalita, Shankar and Raju being at the spot. Acting on this information, a joint team of DRG (District Reserve Guards) and BSF (Border Security Force) was sent there,” confirmed Bastar Inspector General Sundarraj P as reported by The Indian Express.

“Based on specific intelligence, a joint operation by teams of BSF and DRG was launched on April 16… While the operation was under progress, the BSF operations party came under fire from CPI (Maoist) cadres, and BSF troops effectively retaliated against them,” a BSF spokesperson was quoted as saying.
IG Sundarraj said, “The area was searched and bodies of 29 Naxals along with a huge cache of arms and ammunition were recovered from the spot. Three jawans who were injured in the encounter are out of danger and are being airlifted.”

According to The Indian Express report, the weapons recovered include three SLR rifles, an AK rifle, two pistols, two INSAS rifles and two 303 rifles.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the operation and congratulated all the security personnel who made this operation successful with their bravery.

“Naxalism is the biggest enemy of development, peace and the bright future of the youth. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, we are determined to free the country from the scourge of Naxalism. Due to the offensive policy of the government and the efforts of the security forces, Naxalism has been confined to a small area today. Soon, Chhattisgarh and the entire country will be completely Naxal-free,” Shah said.

Two days ago, Shah, on a visit to Khairagarh where he sought a third term for Modi from the electorate and promised to end Naxalism in the next three years.