At least 17 persons alleged to be cadres of the CPI (Maoist) were killed in a fierce gun battle with security personnel along the inter-district border area of Sukma-Dantewada close to Gogunda hilly forest terrain, about 480 km south of Raipur on Saturday morning, Inspector General of Police of Bastar Range Sundarraj P announced to the press today.
According to the IGP, the firefight broke out around 8am in the forest area under the Kerlapal police station limits, when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Maoist operation.
In his report the IGP stated that personnel from the District Reserve guard (DRG), a unit of the state police, and the Central Reserve Police Force’s (CRPF) 159th battalion were involved in the operation, launched on Friday night based on intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists in the forests of Gogunda, Nendum and Upampalli villages in the Kerlapal police station area.
In his prepared remarks, the IGP said three DRG personnel and one CRPF jawan sustained minor injuries in the skirmish, adding that the injured jawans have been admitted to a hospital, and their condition was stated to be normal.
The IGP told the press that after the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of 17 individuals purported to be Maoists were recovered from the encounter site, in addition to a large cache of firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, self-loading rifle (SLR), INSAS rifle, .303 rifle, a rocket launcher and barrel grenade launcher (BGL), and explosive materials.
As per the IGP’s report, seven of the deceased persons have been identified so far, while efforts are underway to ascertain the identity of the others.
According to the IGP, one of the deceased identified by police is believed to be Kuhdami Jagdish, alias Budhra, a Special Zonal Committee member of the Maoist party and a secretary of the Maoist party’s Darbha Division.
The IGP reported that six of the deceased individuals include four Area Committee Members of the Maoist party.
The IGP concluded his statement by saying that a search operation was still underway in the area, and that further details are awaited, adding that Saturday’s encounter in Sukma is the fifth this month in Bastar division.
Sukma, among the seven most Maoist-affected districts in Bastar zone, is cited as an epicenter of Maoist activities in south Chhattisgarh.
source: Red Spark