Bhopal, Mar 20: In a major combing operation, as many as 30 members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) were gunned down by security forces in two separate encounters in Bijapur and Kanker districts of Chhattisgarh on Thursday.
While 18 red rebels were gunned down in the forest area at the Bijapur-Dantewada border, four ultras were neutralized near Koroskodo village under Chhotebethiya police limits at the Kanker-Narayanpur border area.
The encounter between police forces and Maoists in Bijapur began in the early hours of Thursday in the Gangaloor police station area, near the Bijapur-Dantewada border in which a District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawan got martyred.
In a separate incident, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast in the Thulthuli region near the Narayanpur-Dantewada border left two soldiers injured. The wounded personnel, including a jawan and a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), have been hospitalized and are in stable condition.
Meanwhile, the search operation in the area continues.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah lauded the achievement and said that the Modi government is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxals.
Taking to his official ‘X’ handle, Shah wrote, “Under the ‘Naxal-Free India Campaign,’ our forces have achieved yet another major success today. In two separate operations conducted by our security forces in Bijapur and Kanker, Chhattisgarh, 22 Naxals have been eliminated.”
“The Modi government is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxals. Despite providing all facilities for surrender and inclusion, those who refuse to surrender are being dealt with under a zero-tolerance policy. By March 31 next year, the country is set to become completely free of Naxalism,” he added.
