31 Maoists Killed in Chhattisgarh Encounter

In Chhattisgarh, thirty-one Maoists have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district yesterday. The bodies of all the killed Maoists have been recovered. Two security personnel have also been martyred in this encounter, while two other jawans have been injured. Injured jawans have been airlifted to Raipur for better treatment. The condition of both the injured security personnel is reported to be out of danger.

The security forces had received information that a large number of Maoists were present in the forests of the National Park of Bijapur district. Superintendent of Police of Bijapur district, Dr Jitendra Yadav, said that after this intelligence input, a joint team of District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, and Bastar Fighter went out on a search operation. Since this morning, there has been intermittent firing between the security forces and the Maoists.

Later, the



bodies of thirty-one Maoists were recovered from the spot. Apart from this, AK-47, self-loading, and INSAS rifles, along with barrel grenade launchers and other weapons and explosive materials, have also been recovered from the spot. The injured soldiers have been airlifted to Raipur, where their condition is now said to be out of danger.

Home Minister Amit Shah yesterday expressed condolences to the families of the two martyred soldiers who were killed in the operation against Naxalites in Chhattisgarh. In a social media post, Mr Shah stated that the country will always be indebted to these heroes. He said the security forces have achieved a big success in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh today, where 31 Naxalites were killed and a huge amount of arms and explosives were also recovered. The home minister reiterated the resolve to completely eradicate Naxalism from the country by 31st March next year.