Security forces have reportedly eliminated 25 Maoists in the dense Abujhmad forest of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district, and were recovering their bodies and weapons. The operation is ongoing along the border of Dantewada, Narayanpur, and Bijapur districts, with high-ranking Maoist cadres among those killed, police sources said.
The number may be 26 or even more, the police sources said further. However, speaking to IANS, Prabhat Kumar, Superintendent of Police, Narayanpur, said, “The number (of eliminated Maoists) is not confirmed as the encounter is going on, we will inform later.”
Authorities had received intelligence about the presence of Basava Raju, a politburo member and general secretary of a Maoist organisation, in the Boter area of Abujhmad. A bounty of Rs 1.5 crore had been placed on him.
Special forces, including DRG jawans from Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur, and Kondagaon, were mobilised for the operation, which led to an encounter in the early morning hours, the sources said.
Earlier, the police had shared details of the Karregutta operation in a press conference, revealing that security forces had neutralised 31 Maoists over a 24-day offensive in the Karregutta mountains on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.
The casualties included 16 female and 15 male Maoists. Among the slain politburo members is Nambala Keshav Rav alias Gaganna (67) from Andhra Pradesh, who carried a Rs 1.5 crore bounty. The officer has also not confirmed it.
Mupalla Laxman Rao alias Ganpati (70) from Telangana, Kattam Sudarshan alias Anand (68), Malojulla alias Bhupati (60), Mishir Besra (63) from Jharkhand, and Thippari Tirupati alias Devji (64) from Telangana are the most wanted Maoists in the area.
These individuals were senior figures in the Maoist organisation; some of them have been either killed or have absconded. An extensive crackdown in Karregutta hills underscores the sustained efforts of security forces in tackling insurgency, marking a significant development in the ongoing conflict.
Operation in Abujhmad by DRG Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur and Kondagaon is based on the securing of intelligence regarding the presence of a big cadre of Maoists in the Maad division. As many as 26 Maoists, including three carrying rewards totalling Rs 4.5 lakh, surrendered to security forces earlier last month, alongside five female Maoists in Narayanpur.
The five female Maoists who surrendered in Narayanpur were active in various regional committees and carried a reward of Rs one lakh each. These women expressed a desire to abandon the path of violence and return to normalcy due to years of hardship in the forests and disillusionment with Maoist ideology.
Officials hailed this as a positive step and hoped it would inspire others to follow suit. In a significant development, 24 Maoists, including 14 with a combined bounty of Rs 28.50 lakh on their heads, surrendered in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Monday.
According to a senior official, this surrender coincides with an ongoing extensive anti-Maoist operation involving approximately 24,000 security personnel in the Karregutta hills of Bijapur near the Telangana border since April 21.
Among those who surrendered were 11 women, said the officials. The Maoists reportedly expressed disillusionment with the harsh Maoist ideology, the atrocities inflicted on local tribal communities by the ultras, and internal discord within the outlawed group.