At least 29 Maoists were killed in a shootout with security forces, Indian police said, in what turned out to be one of the deadliest days of the long-running conflict.
According to the World News Agency, the rebels were killed in a remote part of the central state of Chhattisgarh, where there have been several deadly attacks on Mao forces this year.
The insurgents, who are known as Naxalites and say they are fighting for the rural poor, have been waging guerrilla attacks since 1967.
Security has been beefed up in Chhattisgarh ahead of the six-week general elections starting Friday. All 29 rebels died in Kankar district, south of state capital Raipur.
District police chief IK Elisela confirmed the casualties to AFP, saying the insurgents were pursued in a joint operation by the police and the paramilitary Border Security Force (BSF).
He said that one BSF soldier and one Kankar policeman were injured in the firing. He said that a large quantity of weapons including four automatic firearms have been recovered from the deceased.
IK Elisela earlier told local media that Shankar Rao, a top rebel commander who had a $300,000 bounty on his capture, was among the dead.
The BSF statement said that the operation was on since Monday evening to intercept the movement of Maoists near Benagunda village.
Bastar District Police Inspector General Sunder Raj Patalingam said that 3 members of the government security forces were injured in the clash.
Tuesday’s clash was the second of its kind this month after 13 Maoists were killed in an exchange of fire in Chhattisgarh on April 2.
According to police data, around 80 Maoists have been killed in India this year, the majority of them in this state.
India has deployed several thousand security personnel to fight Maoist insurgents across the rebel-held ‘Red Corridor’, which stretches across central, southern and eastern states but has shrunk in size.
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2024-04-20 00:23:47