Sukma/Bijapur, Jan 3: At least 14 Naxalites were killed in separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region on Saturday, police said. Twelve Maoist cadres were gunned down in Sukma district, while two were eliminated in a parallel operation in the adjoining Bijapur district during the early hours.
The operations were carried out by personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a specialised unit of the state police, following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in the area, a senior police official said.
In Sukma, an exchange of fire erupted around 8 am in the forested southern region of the district. “The bodies of 12 cadres have been recovered so far and the operation is still underway,” the official said, adding that search operations are continuing in the area.
A separate gunfight broke out around 5 am in the southern forest region of Bijapur district, where the bodies of two Naxalites were recovered from the encounter site. The official said intermittent firing was still continuing there as well.
Security forces also recovered a cache of weapons from the encounter sites, including AK-47 rifles, INSAS rifles and self-loading rifles, police said. Further details will be shared once the ongoing operations conclude.
According to police, the Konta area committee of Maoists was almost wiped out in the Sukma encounter. Last year, as many as 285 Naxalites were killed in separate encounters with security forces across Chhattisgarh. (Agencies)
