Eight Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur

Raipur, Feb 2 (IANS) Chhattisgarh Police on Sunday said that eight Maoists have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, were senior cadres carried a cumulative reward of Rs 16 lakh.

District Reserve Guard (DRG) of Chhattisgarh Police said that they have destroyed a major camp of Maoists in the Bijapur district and recovered a large number of weapons, including an Indian Small Arms System (INSAS) rifle, 12-bore rifle, and BGL Launcher.

An official said that the anti-Maoist operation was carried out in a forest near Todka village under the Gangaloor police station area of Bijapur district.

Superintendent of Police (SP) Bijapur, Jitendra Yadav said that Kamlesh Neelkanth (24), a member of the Gangaloor area, carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh.

Yadav added that two other killed Maoists during the encounter have been identified as Tati Kamlu and Mangal Tati of the Gangaloor LOS (local organisation squad).

They both carried a reward of Rs 3 lakh each, he added.

While other Maoists killed have been identified as Lachchu Potam (40), Shankar Tati (26), Raju Tati, Vijju Padam (22) and Sannu Tati (40).

Police said they were active in various wings of Maoists and carried a reward of Rs. 1 lakh each.

During the operation, police also recovered one Insas rifle, one Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) and its 10 shells, two 12-bore rifles, four muzzle-loading rifles and a huge cache of explosives items were recovered from the encounter site.

Two DRG jawans also sustained minor injuries during the encounter. However, the condition of the injured jawans is stable, and they are out of danger, police said.

According to Chhattisgarh Police, so far this year, 49 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in the state. Of them, 33 were killed in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Bijapur.

On January 20-21, police said, 16 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in the state's Gariaband district, which is a part of the Raipur division.

Last year, 219 Maoists were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters in the state, as per police.

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