Police Claim 30 CPI (Maoist) Cadres Killed In Firefight With Security Forces Along Narayanpur-Dantewada District Border

Narayanpur District, October 4, 2024: Police officials claim that at least 30 armed cadres of the CPI (Maoist) were killed in a fierce gun battle with security forces along the inter-district border area of Dantewada and Narayanpur in south Bastar today.

The Bastar range inspector general of police Sunderraj P attested that the security personnel have recovered 30 bodies so far and the count is likely to rise further.

“Based on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists in the region, a joint team comprising District Reserve Guards (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) launched parallel search operations. The firefight took place in the forested terrain near Nendu-Thurthuli. Even into the late evening hours, the intermittent exchange of firing continued in the area. The search operation in the region remains underway,” Prabhat Kumar, Narayanpur district police chief told the press.

A large cache of weapons including AK-47s, Self Loading Rifles (SLR), Light Machine Guns (LMG), INSAS assault rifles, .303 rifles, and explosives along with other Maoist items have been recovered from the site of the encounter, the police officials declared to be a fact.

Bastar IG Sundarraj P stated that there remains a possibility of recovering 3-4 more bodies of alleged CPI (Maoist) cadres following the encounter.

“One DRG jawan was injured and his condition is out of danger. Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) troops have been sent to the area as additional reinforcement and the search operation has been intensified. The region where the operation was launched was purported to be the stronghold of senior leaders of the Maoist party’s DKZSC and of commanders of a company of the Maoist party’s Peoples’ Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA)”, the IG contended.

Dantewada and Narayanpur are thought by the police and security forces to be among the seven Maoist-affected districts in the Bastar region.

As the exchange of fire continued till late evening, the suspected Maoists were reportedly looking for a safe passage through the forested landscape of the region, the police officials claimed, adding that the bodies recovered following the skirmish will be identified after the safe return of the security forces engaged in the operation.

Source : https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2024/Oct/04/28-naxalites-killed-in-encounter-with-security-forces-in-chhattisgarh

Source : https://www.siasat.com/30-maoists-killed-by-sf-in-chhattisgarh-encounter-police-3107698/