Security forces kill 14 Maoists in Chattisgarh’s Bastar

In the first encounter of the year between security forces and Maoists, 14 members of a proscribed Naxalite outfit have been killed till early Saturday in two different incidents, security sources said.

The gunfight took place in Sukma and Bijapur, which remain among the most Maoist-affected districts in the Bastar division of Chhattisgarh.



At least 12 Naxals, including Mangtu, a Divisional Committee Member of the CPI (Maoist) group, were killed following an exchange of fire with Maoists in the forest of district Sukma.

In another operation, dead bodies of two Maoists were recovered along with two rifles from the forest area of village Gaganpalli in Bijapur district, official sources said.

Officials said during the course of the operation “one SLR and one 12 bore rifle were recovered from the forest of Ganapalli village.”

A team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) had launched the operation in the forest area late Friday evening.

Earlier on December 25, security forces had killed six Maoists in an encounter in Kandhamal district, Odisha. Maoist Central Committee member Ganesh Uike (69), who carried a bounty of more than Rs 1 crore, and two women rebels were among the dead.

Last year in May, government forces had shot border dead 31 alleged Naxalites on the Chattisgarh-Naxalite border. The constant attacks on Naxalites have also seen many of them surrendering, officials said. Some 258 Naxalites surrendered in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra in October last year.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has vowed to eradicate the menace of left-wing extremism by end-March this year.