Based on credible information, an operation was launched on Thursday noon from Kawande and Nelgunda in Gadchiroli district towards the banks of Indravati amid heavy rainfall in the area
The intermittent exchange of fire between the Maoists and the forces continued for about two hours. Representational pic
The Gadchiroli Police said that security forces received credible intelligence about the presence of Maoists near the recently opened foot overbridge at Kawande on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. Based on this credible information, an operation led by Additional SP Ramesh and 12 C60 parties (about 300 commandoes) and a component of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was launched on Thursday noon from Kawande and Nelgunda in Gadchiroli district towards the banks of Indravati amid heavy rainfall in the area.
On Friday morning, the area was cordoned off and a search operation was launched at the river bank in Maharashtra. During this time, Maoists resorted to indiscriminate firing on the C60 commandoes, inviting an effective retaliation by the forces.
The intermittent exchange of fire between the Maoists and the forces continued for about two hours, following which the personnel sanitised the area.
Four bodies of Maoists were found from the spot. The security forces also recovered an automatic self-loading rifle and two .303 rifles. Apart from this, walkie talkies, camping material, Naxal literature etc have been seized from the spot.
The security forces will continue with the anti-Naxal Operation in the area to trace the remaining Maoists.
On May 21, in a major blow to the Maoist insurgency, the security forces in Chhattisgarh had killed 27 Naxals, including CPI-Maoist General Secretary Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, during a massive joint operation in the Abujmarh forests of Narayanpur district, ANI reported.
The Inspector General (IG) of Bastar Range in Chhattisgarh, P Sundarraj, on Wednesday said that the joint operation that killed 27 naxals, including CPI-M General Secretary Nambala Keshav Rao, alias Basavaraju, was carried out by District Reserve Guard (DRG) teams from Narayanpur, Dantewada, Bijapur, and Kondagaon.
Sundarraj further added that the encounter took place in the Abujmarh area, a known Naxal stronghold, following intelligence inputs about the presence of senior Maoist leaders.
He said that AK-47 rifles, SLR-INSAS carbines, and other arms and ammunition in heavy numbers were recovered. One DRG jawan was martyred and several others were injured in the operation, which also led to the recovery of a large cache of arms and ammunition.
(With ANI inputs)
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