Ten Maoists were killed in a fierce encounter with the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) personnel on Tuesday morning in the Abhujmarh area of the Narayanpur district near the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border.
Among the deceased are three female Maoist insurgents whose bodies have been recovered from the scene along with a cache of arms and ammunition including an AK-47 and explosives.
The police received intelligence about the presence of a large number of Maoist insurgents in the Tekameta area of Abhujmarh. Acting on this tipoff, security forces conducted a search operation late on Monday night. On reaching the area on Tuesday morning, they came under heavy fire from the Maoists. In the ensuing exchange of fire, ten Maoists were neutralised.
Efforts are on to identify the slain Maoists believed to be high-ranking cadres of the Maoist organisation. Along with the bodies, a cache of weapons including AK-47 rifles, INSAS rifles, and a significant amount of ammunition and explosives were seized from the Maoist camp.
It’s worth noting that this encounter comes just weeks after a similar clash in Kanker district on April 16, where security forces engaged in a five-hour-long encounter with Maoists, resulting in the elimination of 29 insurgents.
Chhattisgarh’s Home Minister, Vijay Sharma, commended the efforts of the DRG and STF personnel involved in the encounter. He appealed to the Maoists to abandon violence and return to the mainstream with a promise of a peaceful reintegration process for those who choose to surrender.