In a major operation conducted on the Sunday, police in Maharashtra’s Naxal-infested Gadchiroli killed 14 Maoists.
Representational Image. (Photo: Facebook)
In a major operation conducted on the Sunday, police in Maharashtra’s Naxal-infested Gadchiroli killed 14 Maoists.
The security forces are conducting combing operations in the forest area where the encounter happened. So far, the forces have recovered 10 bodies.
Reports say that a specialised combat unit of the police had been looking for the Naxals for the last two days. The ultras opened fire as soon as they spotted the forces thus triggering retaliatory action.
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Sharad Shelar, Inspector General of Police, said that two district-level “commanders” of the outfit, identified as Sainath and Sainyu, were among those killed in the encounter.
The encounter comes a day after a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) soldier, Assistant Sub-Inspector Anil Kumar Maurya (51) of the 212th battalion, was killed by Naxals in Karigundam forest in Sukma, Chhattisgarh.
The Gadchiroli operation is being hailed as a major one against the Naxals and comes within a month of Home Minister Rajnath Singh stating that Naxalism has entered its last phase in the country.
Speaking at the 79th Raising Day of the CRPF, Singh had said that there while the casualty rate of security forces and civilians has gone down, that of the Naxals has risen.
While paying tribute to nine CRPF men killed in a Naxal ambush in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma early in March, Singh said that Naxals are resorting to “cowardly” tactics since Left Wing Extremism (LWE) is on the wane.
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