Security Forces Gun Down 12 Maoists In Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur And Gariaband In Two Days; Weapons, Explosives Recovered

Security forces killed 12 Maoists in two separate encounters in Chhattisgarh over the past two days, intensifying operations in the Bastar zone, reported The New Indian Express.

On Thursday (11 September), a joint team of forces gunned down 10 Maoists in Gariaband district, about 150 km east of Raipur. Among those killed was Central Committee member Manoj Balakrishna, a key leader of the outlawed CPI (Maoist).

A day later, security personnel engaged in a fierce gun battle with Maoists in the south-western region of Bijapur district, about 400 km south of Raipur. Bastar police confirmed the deaths of two cadres in the encounter.

“Based on intelligence inputs regarding the presence of Maoists in the given location of Bijapur district, troops launched a search operation. A gunfight broke out between the security forces and the Maoists in the morning. The exchange of fire continues intermittently. Two bodies of Maoists have been recovered from the encounter site,” said the police.

Bijapur is one of the seven Maoist-affected districts in the Bastar zone and has long been regarded as a core stronghold of left-wing extremists in south Chhattisgarh.

Union home minister Amit Shah, during a visit in August last year, had declared that the country would be Maoist-free by 31 March 2026.

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