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31 Maoists gunned down in Chhattisgarh

By Editor in Chief On Oct 5, 2024

On Friday, security forces gunned down 31 Maoists in the forests of Abujhmad in what is believed to be one of the largest anti-Naxal operations in the history of the state. According to security forces, more than 40 anti-naxal operations were undertaken this year as part of ‘Maad Bachao Abhiyan-Save Maad from Naxalism’ — including six major operations since April where a total of 63 Maoists were killed.

According to the Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, close to 50 anti-naxal operations were undertaken this year as part of the “Maad Bachao Abhiyan – Save Maad from Naxalism’ campaign — including nine major operations since April this year killing at least 97 Maoists this year.

“This year a series of anti-naxal operations were conducted in the core of Abhujmad as well as in its periphery. These operations have dealt a significant blow to the Maoist activities in the region. The objective is to ensure that Maoists don’t get any safe zone in Abhujmad or any other region in Bastar. Now the Maoist leadership and the cadres are left with the only option which is to shun violence and join the mainstream,”

A Light Machine Gun (LMG) rifle, AK47 rifle, Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), INSAS, and .303 rifle were recovered, the sources said.

Friday’s operation was even bigger than in April this year when 29 Maoists were killed in an encounter in the Kanker district of Bastar division ahead of the Lok Sabha polls in the area.

Abujhmad, an area with a dense forest cover measuring around 4,000 sq. km, is largely spread across Narayanpur but also extends to small parts of Bijapur and Dantewada.

Being the main den of the insurgent Naxalite movement, large tracts of the land remain un-surveyed – according to the government’s revenue records, only about 10 percent of the total land has been surveyed.

A senior police official requesting anonymity had said then top Naxal leaders like politburo member and CPI (Maoist) general secretary Basavaraju alias Nambala Kesava Rao, politburo members Mallejula Venugopal alias Sonu alias Boopathy and Devji alias Tirupathi, central committee members Kosa alias Satyanarayana Reddy and CCM Ramachandra Reddy alias Gudsa Usendi are hiding in Abujhmad.

Since Chhattisgarh was created in 2000, this year the highest number of Maoists have been killed in a single calendar year.

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