Chhattisgarh: Security forces eliminate 12 Naxals in an encounter; 1 jawan injured

The gunfight took place in the forest near Pidia village under Gangaloor police station limits when a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, police had said earlier

PGurus Newsdesk

May 11, 2024

The gunfight took place in the forest near Pidia village under Gangaloor police station limits when a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, police had said earlier

Chhattisgarh Naxal encounter: Over 800 security personnel were part of the operation

In a major success, the security forces shot dead 12 Naxalsin an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district early Friday. A jawan of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was injured in an IED explosion when the team was heading back after the operation.

Over 800 security personnel were part of the operation.

The encounter began at 6 am at different locations in and around the Pidiya forest, in the Gangaloor area under the jurisdiction of the Pidiya police station in Bijapur district, considered a Maoist stronghold and an area from where many are recruited.

The operation was launched from multiple directions. The gunfight went on for around 12 hours at more than six locations.

This comes barely three weeks after 29 Naxals were eliminated in a gunbattle in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh.

Bijapur SP Jitendra Kumar Yadav said they had received information about the presence of around 150 Maoists in the Pidiya forest. He said they were from the West Bastar division, Darbha division, People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PGLA) Company 2’s commander Vella, platoons 12 and 13, and Gangaloor area committee secretary Dinesh Modiyam.

“It was a joint effort of forces from three districts with effective coordination,” Dantewada SP Gaurav Rai said.

Acting on the information, a joint operation was undertaken at night by security forces comprising personnel of the DRG from Bijapur, Dantewada, and Sukma, Bastar Fighters, Special Task Force, CoBRA, and CRPF battalions.

After the encounter, the security forces destroyed the Maoist camp and seized a BGL, a 12-bore gun, a country-made rifle, explosives, medicines, Maoist uniforms, literature, and daily items.

During the search operations, they came across the bodies of 12 Naxals. While returning, a DRG jawan suffered injuries in an IED blast.

The number of Maoists killed this year in Chhattisgarh is now 103 — the highest since 2019. Until April-end, 91 Maoists had been killed by security forces. This was the second major encounter in Gangaloor within weeks –13 Maoists were killed in the area on April 2.

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