Fifteen Naxalites, including a veteran ultra with a significant bounty, surrendered in Chhattisgarh, effectively dismantling the Maoist movement in the Raipur-Sambalpur region.
Twelve of the 16 Naxalites killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district have been identified as dreaded ultras carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 3.13 crore, including a central committee member of the outlawed movement, a police official said. Among them was Chalpathi alias Jairam, a member of the central committee and Odisha state committee of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), who had a collective bounty of Rs 90 lakh on his head in Chhattisgarh, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. It was the first time someone from the central committee, the main governing body of the proscribed outfit, has been eliminated in an encounter in Chhattisgarh. The encounter, which lasted three days, involved personnel from E-30 (a Gariaband district police unit), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and Odisha police's Special Operation Group (SOG).
Earlier on Monday, two women Naxalites were killed and one CoBRA jawan was injured in an encounter during the same operation, they said.
In a major breakthrough, the Chhattisgarh police have arrested six persons, including self-styled Naxal commander Barsa Lakhma, who were allegedly involved in the gunning down of 76 security personnel in Dantewada in April."We have arrested six people, including Lakhma, on Sunday night from Morpali," said Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra.The six were allegedly involved in the killing of 75 CRPF personnel and one state police constable on April 6.
A major tragedy was averted after two Naxal-planted landmines carrying 50 and 25 kg explosives were unearthed from a national highway in Dantewada on Monday, barely days after an IED blast left eight CRPF personnel dead in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district.
Three Naxals, including a woman, were killed in a police encounter in the jungles of Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said.
Seven Naxals were killed and a policeman sustained serious injuries in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday.Security forces gunned down seven Naxals in the jungles of Tetemdagu village, nearly 18 kms from Kistaram town, in the district, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Amresh Kumar Mishra said, adding that a policeman was also seriously injured in the ambush.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi strongly condemned the attack.