On Friday, 31 Naxalites were killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division. It is believed to be the biggest anti-Naxal operation in the state.
In a major breakthrough for security forces in Chhattisgarh, 31 Naxalites were neutralised in the Bastar region on Friday. As per the Chhattisgarh Police, Out of the 185 Naxalites killed in 2024, around 97 were neutralised in the state’s Abujhmad area.
Naxalites gunned down on Friday were reportedly belonged to People’s Liberation Guerilla Army (PLGA) company No. 6, Platoon 16 and east Bastar division of Naxalites. On Friday, the bodies of 28 slain Naxalites were recovered, while on Saturday, security forces found three more bodies taking the total death toll to 31.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) On Friday’s Encouter:
Bodies of three more Naxalites were recovered this morning from the dense forest where the encounter took place on Friday,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
“With this, the toll of Naxalites in the encounter rose to 31. The identity of the Naxalites is yet to be ascertained, but prima facie it appears that they belonged to PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerilla Army) Company No. 6, Platoon 16 of Maoists and east Bastar division of Maoists,” he added.
Friday’s operation is considered the biggest anti-Naxal operation in Chattisgarh so far. Earlier this year in April, 29 Naxalites were neutralised during the encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district ahead of the Lok Sabha Elections.
Over 40 anti-naxal operations were carried out this year as part of ‘Maad Bachao Abhiyan-Save Maad from Naxalism’, reported The Indian Express. Meanwhile, since April, six major anti-Naxal operations were undertaken and a total of 63 Naxals were killed.
On Friday, the gunfight broke out between security forces and Naxalites around 1 am in a forest between Nendur and Thulthuli villages on Dantewada and Narayanpur inter-district border, where a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) was out on an anti-Naxal operation. The intermittent firing lasted for a long time and the security forces continued search operations in the area. A jawan of the state police’s DRG sustained injuries in a blast.