In a significant escalation of India’s ongoing battle against left-wing extremism, security forces engaged in a fierce encounter with Maoist insurgents in the dense forests of Narayanpur district, Chhattisgarh, bordering Odisha.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj Pattilingam confirmed that six Maoists have been killed, with their bodies recovered from the encounter site. The operation, conducted late Friday, also resulted in the seizure of a significant cache of weapons, including AK-47 rifles and self-loading rifles, highlighting the militants’ access to advanced armaments.
The Narayanpur encounter occurred in the rugged Abujhmad area, a known Maoist stronghold spanning the Narayanpur, Dantewada, and Bijapur districts.
According to a statement issued by the police, “The operation, launched based on intelligence inputs, is still underway.” The six deceased Maoists have been brought to the district headquarters and have not yet been identified.
“Joint teams of security personnel, comprising the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), and Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), initiated a search operation in the region after receiving information about the presence of Maoist cadres,” said Inspector General Sundarraj P.
He added, “Intermittent exchanges of gunfire between the Maoists and security personnel began Friday afternoon and are still ongoing in some areas. So far, the bodies of six Maoists have been recovered from the encounter site.”
