Ten suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Friday, the Hindustan Times reported.
The exchange of fire broke out in the forests near the Bhandarpadar village during a joint operation that began after security forces received about the presence of suspected Maoists in the area, The Indian Express reported.
The operation involved personnel from the District Reserve Guard and the Central Reserve Police Force, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sunderaj P told the Hindustan Times. “We are yet to identify the bodies of the Maoists recovered,” he added.
Several weapons, including INSAS, AK-47 and SLR rifles, were recovered from the site, Sunderaj said, adding that the operation was underway.
Following the gunfight, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo said that “security forces took major action against the Naxalites in Sukma district this morning and killed 10 Naxalites in an encounter”.
In a social media post, Deo said: “Our government is fighting strongly against Naxalites by working on the policy of zero tolerance.”
Ensuring development, peace and security in Bastar was the top priority of the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the state, he added.
The development on Friday brings the total number of suspected Maoists killed in the state’s Bastar division this year to 207, The Indian Express reported. The figure is also the highest in a year since the state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000.
The Bastar division comprises Bastar, Kanker, Kondagaon, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Bijapur and Sukma districts. The area is a stronghold of Maoist militants.
Malini Subramaniam has reported for Scroll that while many of those killed in Bastar this year have been declared by the police to be reward-carrying Maoists, several families dispute the claim. They said that the persons killed were civilians.
On October 4, security forces killed 31 suspected Maoists in a gunfight inside a forest along the border of the Narayanpur and Dantewada districts in the region. This reportedly marked the deadliest such operation in Chhattisgarh’s 24-year history.
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