3 CPI (Maoist) Cadres Killed In Gun Battle With Security Forces In Balaghat District

Balaghat District, June 20, 2022: Three cadres of the CPI (Maoist), including a member of the divisional committee of the party, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat district on Monday morning, police said.

The slain Maoists, including a woman, were wanted by the police in MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, a senior officer said.

This is the first time when a divisional committee level member and commander-in-chief of the Maoists was killed in MP in a gun battle, he said.

The encounter took place under the Bahela police station area in the Balaghat district, located about 450 km from the state capital Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh Home Minister Narottam Mishra had told reporters earlier in the day.

Talking to reporters on Monday evening, Inspector General (Anti-Naxal Operations) Sajid Farid Shapoo said the slain Maoists were carrying a collective reward of Rs 57 lakh on their heads in MP, Maharashtra, and Chhattisgarh.

On a tip-off, the special operations group (SOG) of the MP Police’s Hawk Force reached Kharadi hills under the Bahela police station area around 5 AM on Monday, he said.

“Spotting the police team, the Maoists opened fire. They did not heed the warning of the police asking them to surrender. The firing lasted for about 45 minutes,” he said.

The slain divisional committee member, identified as Nagesh aka Raju Tulavi (40), was carrying a collective reward of Rs 29 lakh in MP, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, he said. Tulavi was a resident of Batejhari in Gadchiroli district (Maharashtra).

Shapoo said the two other Maoists, Manoj (25) and Rame (23), the woman cadre, were residents of Chhattisgarh.

The IGP said an AK-47 rifle, a 303 rifle, a revolver, a 315 single shot rifle, combat pouches, backpacks, a wireless set, GPS trackers, detonators, a pressure cooker bomb and Maoist literature were recovered from the spot of the encounter.

In Madhya Pradesh, three districts- Balaghat, Mandla and Dindori- are considered Maoist-affected areas.

Source : https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/nation/3-naxals-carrying-over-rs-57-lakh-bounty-in-three-states-killed-in-police-encounter-in-mps-balaghat-405506