Chhattisgarh: Maoist killed in encounter with security forces in Kanker

RAIPUR: A Maoist was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district, police said on Monday, adding that they have also recovered an automatic rifle from the site.

Kanker superintendent of police, Indira Kalyan Elesela, said that the gunfight took place on Sunday afternoon in a forest along the Kanker-Narayanpur border during an anti-Naxal operation.

“The operation was conducted by a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Border Security Force (BSF) following intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres from the North Bastar and Maad divisions,” said the SP.

After the encounter, security personnel recovered the body of a male Maoist along with a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR).

The deceased Maoist was identified as Jatin Mandavi, who had a reward of ₹8 lakh on his head, the SP added.

This latest encounter follows a major operation in Bijapur district on Saturday, where eight Naxalites were killed. With this, the number of Naxalites neutralised in separate encounters across Chhattisgarh since the beginning of the year has risen to 50.

Bastar division, comprising seven districts including Kanker, has seen the highest number of casualties, with 34 Maoists killed so far. On January 20-21, 16 Naxalites were gunned down in an encounter in Gariaband district under the Raipur division.

According to police records, security forces neutralised 219 Naxalites in various encounters across Chhattisgarh last year.