Bijapur: Three rebels were gunned down in two separate operations involving two groups of Maoists with security forces in Sukma and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh on Saturday as per police records. These operations also brought out weapons, explodium, and items related to Maoists from the encounter zone.
It has not been established who the deceased Maoists were. The first reported encounter took place close to Belpchcha village in Sukma district early on Saturday. Superintendent of Police, Sukma, Kiran Chavan, said that the accidental encounter happened during an anti-Naxal operation carried out by the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, and the district police force. The operation was led on Friday night based on reports from intelligence regarding the assembling of Maoists in the forest area surrounding Belpchcha, Jinetong, and Uskawaya villages to observe their bandh on May 26. The bandh was organized by the Maoists against so-called fake encounters in the region.
Continuing his account, SP Chavan said, “At about 1.30 am when the patrolling team was near Belpchcha fighting broke out. After the firing pin, the body of a Maoist was recovered besides a weapon, explosives, and Maoists literature.”
The second attack was reported in a forest portion of Bijapur district under the Mirtur police station. According to a statement released by the Bijapur police, two Maoists were shot dead in the forest located near the Jammemarka and Kamkanaar villages.
The operation aimed at neutralizing the Maoist top leadership in the region, in particular, the supply-in-charge of the West Bastar Division of CPI (Maoist), code named Pandru, in addition to as many as fifteen other rebels. This led to a crossfire, and DRG had to engage the Maoists they were fighting. While combing, the police and the security forces entrenched in the area discovered the bodies of two Maoists whose identities could not be confirmed.
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