5 Naxalites Killed, 2 Jawans Injured in Intense Encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar Region

Intense Encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar Region: Five Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Saturday morning.

The two injured DRG personnel have been shifted to the hospital for immediate medical care.

The joint operation by security forces started on Saturday morning after inputs were received that Maoists were present in north Abujhmad, a vast area bordering Narayanpur and Kanker districts.

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The firing between security forces and Maoists started at 8 am and continued for hours, said police, five bodies were found and weapons recovered from them.

Abujhmad is a vast unsurveyed area larger than the state of Goa. It is mostly in Narayanpur district, with small parts in Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, and Maharashtra.

However, this year as part of the government’s ‘Maad Bachao’ (Save Maad) campaign, over 100 Maoists have been killed in encounters by security forces in Abujhmad and its periphery.

With Saturday’s encounter, the total number of Maoists killed in Bastar region has gone up to 197 this year, the highest in one year since Chhattisgarh was formed in 2000.

17 security personnel have been killed this year and 60 civilians have died in anti-Maoist operations, most in one year since 2018 when 79 civilians were killed.

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Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Arun Sao said that government is working to make Bastar Naxal-free. He said, “As per the promise, the double-engine government is taking strong steps for making Bastar Naxal-free. Our security forces are going to remote areas and fighting the Naxalites… We are moving Bastar towards development by gradually making it Naxal-free…”

The security forces in Chhattisgarh are carrying out aggressive anti-Maoist operations under the new regime with a renewed strategy targeting the rebels in the areas considered their strongholds.

Kanker and Narayanpur are among the seven Maoist-affected districts in the conflict-ridden zone of Bastar. Further details awaited

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