Over 30 suspected Maoists were killed and several others injured in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, a police official said.
It’s the second biggest success for security forces in operations against Maoists after the April 16 Kanker encounter in which 29 Maoists were neutralized.
Inspector General of Police (IGP) Sunderaj P told media that the encounter was still on and as many as 28 bodies have been recovered. He was of the view that more bodies would be found in due course of time.
The encounter, according to Bastar police, began around 1300 hours in the forest area of Abhujhmaad on the Narayanpur-Dantewada inter-district border when the security personnel were out on an anti-Maoists operation.
Abujhmaad straddles between Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, and is called the ‘unknown hill’ as the 6,000 sqkm thick forest has not been surveyed since the British era. The jungle is the epicentre of Maoist activities and about a dozen senior cadres of CPI (Maoist) are said to be still camping there.
“The encounter is still going on,” Dantewada superintendent of police Gaurav Rai, adding that Maoists have been cornered in the jungles of Thulthuli and Gevdi villages, south of Abujhmaad.
An official statement revealed that a huge cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle, were recovered from the encounter spot.
“Details of the exact number of weapons and ammunition is yet to be ascertained. The identification process of the deceased Maoists will be done on Saturday,” Rai added.