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Raipur: At least three Maoists have been killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in the Indravati Tiger Reserve region of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday. A large number of weapons and ammunition were seized from the site of the encounter.
According to the police, the encounter started around 9 am along the state’s border with Maharashtra. Security personnel of the CRPF’s CoBRA battalion, Special Task Force and District Reserve Guard were patrolling the area after receiving information of suspicious movement when the firing started.
This was close to the Indravati River in Bhairamgarh, about 420 km from the state capital. The three bodies were recovered after the first skirmish. The dead rebels are yet to be identified. Locals said that intermittent firing could be heard till late afternoon.
“Operations are still continuing. Combing operations are underway. We do not write off the possibility of more casualties among the Naxalites. After every encounter, they try to carry away as many bodies as possible from the site to ensure that the exact casualty figure is not known. This would cause their sympathisers to lose morale, they believe,” an official said
With Saturday’s deaths, the number of casualties suffered by the Maoists in Chhattisgarh this year has crossed 138. In 2024, security personnel neutralised 219 Naxalites. In 2022 and 2023, the death tolls were 30 and 22 respectively.
More Maoist deaths can be expected in 2025 as Union home minister Amit Shah has announced that Naxalite-related violence will come to an end in the country by the end of March 2026. He has urged the Naxalites to surrender arms.
Earlier this year, the CPI (Maoist) leadership sent feelers for peace talks through the media. The Government though has made it clear that any dialogue will have to be unconditional and can take place only after the surrender of arms.
