29 Naxals, including top cadres, were shot and killed in a gunfight in Bastar; CM Sai hails a “huge accomplishment” in this encounter

Encounter in Kanker: On Tuesday, in the insurgency-plagued Bastar area of Chhattisgarh, security forces opened fire on as many as 29 Naxals, including a prominent Naxalite commander named Shankar Rao, who had a Rs 25 lakh reward on his head. The ferocious gunfight resulted in the largest number of Naxal deaths in a single confrontation in the state’s history, injuring three security officers.

According to a top police official, the gunfight broke out on Tuesday afternoon at 2:00 PM while a combined team from the Border Security Force (BSF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of the Chhattisgarh Police was conducting an anti-Naxal operation in the Hapatola forest, which is under the jurisdiction of the Chhotebethiya police station and lies between the villages of Binagunda and Koronar.

29 Naxals, including senior cadres, were shot down at Kanker.
Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range), Sundarraj P., told reporters that the security forces had started the operation in response to information regarding the presence of prominent members of the banned CPI (Maoist) north Bastar division, including Shankar, Lalita, Raju, and others.

The senior official said that 29 Naxals, including their top leaders, were shot dead in a ferocious shootout that broke out when local Naxalites opened fire on the security forces. A sizable cache of weaponry, including AK-47 rifles, was also found at the scene.

“A massive cache of weapons, including AK-47, SLR, Insas, and.303 rifles, along with the bodies of 29 Maoists, were recovered from the spot,” IG Sundarraj said.

Three security officers were injured in the incident, according to the senior IPS officer, and their condition was declared to be out of danger. They were also sent to a hospital for treatment.

“Great accomplishment,” CM Vishnu Deo Sai remarks.
Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh Vishnu Deo Sai, meanwhile, praised security forces for the “historic encounter” and called the significant anti-Naxal operation a “big achievement.”

“It really is a huge accomplishment. During this operation, a combined DRG and BSF group came into Naxalites in the Binagunda-Koragutta woods in the Kanker District’s Chhottebetiya Police Station region. There have been 29 confirmed Naxalites killed. During the confrontation, three jawans sustained injuries, for which they are receiving treatment. “I extend my congratulations to all jawans and security personnel who took part in this momentous occasion,” the CM said.

The chief minister said that the Naxalites were attempting to sabotage the April 19 elections in the Bastar area.

It seems that the Naxalites intended to sabotage the April 19 Bastar region elections. The Lok Sabha seats of Bastar and Kanker are not far from the encounter location. Elections in Bastar are scheduled on April 19, according to Sai.

They have tried to sabotage polls in the past. With the “Niyad Nellanar” program, our government is attempting to promote development in the regions afflicted by naxal. Amit Shah, the home minister, has also reaffirmed his intention to eradicate naxalism. He said, “The administration wants these Naxalites to become mainstream.

Bastar has seen 79 Naxals slain so far this year.
Thus far this year, seven districts in the Bastar region, including Kanker, have seen different gunfights between security forces and Naxalites that have claimed the lives of as many as 79 people. 13 Naxals lost their lives in a significant gunfight with military soldiers in the Bijapur area on April 2 earlier this month.

The Kanker constituency, which is a portion of Bastar, will vote in the second round of general elections on April 26. The Naxalite-affected Bastar Lok Sabha seat will poll in its first phase on April 19.