Raipur: In an encounter on Tuesday, at least 29 Maoists were killed in deep forests of Kanker district of Bastar region. The gunfire was exchanged between a combined squad of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of the Chhattisgarh Police in the forest areas under Chhotebethiya Police Station.
Prominent Maoist leaders Shankar Rao and Lalita, who had a bounty of Rs 25 lakh each, on their heads, were among those killed. Vinod Gawde, another cadre with Rs 10 lakh bounty also got killed in the encounter. Three security forces personnel, including two BSF inspectors and a DRG soldier, sustained injuries in the encounter.
According to the police, a joint operation was conducted by the BSF with DRG in the Binagunda area, under Chotebetiya police station in Kanker, based on specific intelligence inputs. During the encounter, 29 bodies of the Maoists were found and seven AK series rifles and three Light Machine Guns (LMGs) were seized from the location of the operation.
The encounter occured days before Chhattisgarh started polling for Lok Sabha elections. In the first phase of polling, Bastar Lok Sabha constituency will vote on April 19. While in the second phase, Kanker, where the encounter broke out today, will vote along with Rajnandgaon and Mahasamund on April 26.
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