Chhattisgarh: Two naxals killed in encounter with police

Two Naxals who were involved in deadly attacks on politicians and security forces and carried cash rewards on their heads were on Saturday killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district, police said. The gun battle broke out at around 12:45 pm in forested hills near Mankapal village under Gadiras police station area when a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and District Force was out on a counter-insurgency operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.

The operation had been launched on inputs provided by the State Intelligence Branch (SIB), he said. The exchange of fire lasted for about half-an-hour following which the ultras fled into the dense forest taking cover of the rough terrain, he said.

During search, police recovered bodies of two male ultras, he added. They were identified as Gundadhur alias Sodhi Kesa, an LGS (local guerrilla squad) commander of Malangir area committee of Maoists, and Aaytu who was a security guard of senior cadre Vinod (a divisional committee member), the IG said, adding that they were carrying rewards of Rs 5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh on their heads, respectively. Gundadhur was allegedly involved in the 2013 Jhiram valley attack on a convoy of Congress leaders in Bastar district wherein 29 people, including senior party leaders, were killed, and the Tahakwada attack in Sukma in which 15security personnel lost their lives in 2014, he said.

Besides, the duo were also involved in the killing of  BJP MLA Bhima Mandavi and four security personnel in Dantewada in April last year and the 2018 Nilawaya attack in which three policemen and a Doordarshan cameraman were killed in Dantewada, he said. Two .315 bore guns, one muzzle-loading gun, three gelatin rods, one country-made grenade, electronic detonators were also recovered from the spot, he said.

Blood stains found at the spot indicated that a few naxals might have been injured in the gun-battle but their colleagues managed to drag them inside forests, the IG said.