Security forces killed at least 26 Naxalites in a fierce exchange in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, while four more were gunned down in Kanker district, the state's Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said on Friday. The encounter, which occurred on Thursday, took place while the Naxalites were gathered for a Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) meeting, a period observed between March and June. The Deputy CM hailed the operation as a major achievement against the Naxals.
Combat units of the Chhattisgarh police's District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Bastar Fighters were mobilised from different directions in the area on February 7, the official said.
The Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) has established a new forward operating base in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, a region known for its strong Maoist presence. The base, located in a remote area surrounded by hills and known Maoist training camps, aims to expand the CRPF's presence in the region and counter the influence of Maoist insurgents. This is the 13th such base established in recent years as part of the government's plan to eliminate Left Wing Extremism by 2026.
An alert has been sounded in the anti-Naxal operations theatre of Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand following a "spike" in IED blasts and recoveries, including that of a device rigged with beer bottles and a small antenna for remote control explosion. The uptick in improvised explosive device (IED) recovery and blasts has been noticed as multiple security forces move into core Naxal areas to meet the Union government's deadline of wiping off Left Wing Extremism (LWE) from the country by March 2026.
In a separate incident, a commando of the Central Reserve Police Force's jungle warfare unit CoBRA was injured when a pressure improvised explosive device (IED), planted by Naxalites went off in the district, police said.
Six Naxalites, including "deputy commander" Punem Nagesh, his wife, and another female cadre, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday, a police officer said.
It had organised its 83rd anniversary event last year in Jammu after the government asked all paramilitary or CAPF to hold these events outside the national capital.
Many IEDs explode even when the troops are on foot and their trigger mechanism gets activated just due to the pressure of the feet. These incidents have injured more than 100 personnel over the last two years, the officer said.
Women, children and other family members of the deceased were seen crying while women security personnel were trying to console them.
Naxalites blew up the mini-goods van in which the security personnel were travelling by using an Improvised Explosive Device (IED), police sources said.
At one location, seven bodies of the troops were recovered and the tree trunks bore bullet shots, indicating that a fierce gun battle took place in the area.
The Naxals fled from the spot after a prolonged gunfight.
A day after killing seven policemen in an ambush in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, the Naxals on Sunday allegedly set ablaze at least 17 vehicles engaged in mining work in insurgency-hit Kanker district, police said.
The Naxals used over 50 kilogram of explosives in Chhattisgarh's Sukma, about a year after a dozen jawans were killed in a similar ambush in the district.
Seven policemen were on Saturday killed and 10 persons were injured in a gunbattle with Naxals in the Maoist hotbed of Sukma district in Chhattisgarh.
A CoBRA company has about 100 personnel each.
He said in most of the Naxal attacks, it has been noticed that villagers were used as human shields by the insurgents during the gun battle.
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