Raipur: Five bodies of yet to be identified Maoists have been recovered from the Indravati National Park in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, over the last few hours. They were apparently killed in separate encounters with security forces since Friday.
This comes on the heels of the deaths of top Maoist commanders Sudhakar and Bhaskar inside the national park on Wednesday and Thursday. Of the five bodies recovered, two were of women.
According to the police, three bodies were recovered from inside the forest after a firefight between the Naxalites and security forces on the intervening night of Friday and Saturday. Two more bodies were recovered after an encounter on Saturday.
“A significant number of weapons, ammunition and a large quantity of explosives were recovered close to the bodies. Efforts are on to identify them,” a senior officials said.
It is suspected that a number of top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) are hiding inside the forest. A massive cordon and search operation is underway since the last three days. The official said that the security forces personnel are in relentless pursuit of the Maoists and the operation will continue till the whole area is cleared.
A number of personnel have been bitten by snakes and stung by bees. Some have suffered from dehydration. They have all been moved to hospital for treatment and are out of danger, he added.
The Maoists, meanwhile, held passengers of a bus hostage for about 30 minutes and torched a truck carrying onions from Maharashtra to Bijapur on the Karremarka-Bhairamgarh Road on Thursday night.
“There were about 10-11 Maoists. This was a clear effort to boost the sagging morale of the cadres and overground workers. There is panic within the ranks after the deaths of top leaders like Basavaraju (May 21), Sudhakar and Bhaskar. However, such tactics will not work. They will either surrender or be killed in encounters with the security forces,” the official said.
He dismissed allegations by Maoist sympathisers that the leaders were captured and then killed. There is no reason for the government to do so as repeated calls are being given for the rebels to lay down their arms and surrender. A number of them dis so in Gadchiroli on Friday, even as Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis attended a mass marriage of surrendered and rehabilitated Naxalites.
