Chhattisgarh: Five Maoists Killed In Encounter With Security Forces In Bastar, Two Jawans Injured

Five Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Saturday (16 November) morning.

During the operation, two jawans sustained injuries but are reportedly out of danger.

Acting on intelligence inputs about Maoist activity in north Abujhmad, a region bordering Narayanpur and Kanker districts, security forces launched a joint operation early Saturday morning.

The exchange of fire between the security forces and the Maoists began at around 8 am and went on for hours, the police said, adding that five bodies were found and weapons were seized from them, Indian Express reported.

The joint operation was carried out by the District Reserve Guards (DRG), the Special Task Force (STF), and the Border Security Force (BSF).

Abujhmad, a vast territory exceeding the size of the state of Goa, is largely situated in the Narayanpur district, with small parts of it extending into Bijapur, Dantewada, Kanker, and Maharashtra.

Till last year, the area was regarded as a Maoist stronghold due to its dense forests and no presence of government officials.

However, this year, as part of the government’s ‘Maad Bachao’ (Save Maad) campaign, over 100 Maoists have been gunned down in encounters by security forces in Abujhmad and its periphery.---

With the encounter on Saturday, the total number of Maoists killed in the Bastar region has gone up to 197 this year, the highest in one year since Chhattisgarh’s formation in 2000.

Seventeen security personnel have been killed by Maoists in Chhattisgarh this year.

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