Chhattisgarh: Cop, Naxal Commander Killed In Kanker Gunfight; 6 Naxals Held In Bijapur

A police constable and a top naxal commander were killed in an encounter in Kanker, while 6 Naxals, including a woman ultra were held in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Sunday.

Chhattisgarh News: A wanted Naxalite guerrilla fighter, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head, and a police constable were killed in a gunfight between security personnel and Naxal fighters in Chhattisgarh’s Naxal insurgency-hit Kanker district on Sunday.

According to the police, a joint team of security forces were carrying out an anti-Naxal operation in Hidur village under Chhotebethiya police station limits, following specific inputs about the movement and presence of Naxals in the Hidur forest area.

#WATCH | Chhattisgarh: Kanker ASP Avinash Thakur says, "Anti-naxal operations are continuously going on. In a joint operation conducted by BSF, DRG and the Police force, one Naxal was shot dead, and one AK-47 has also been recovered. Constable Ramesh Kurethi also lost his life… pic.twitter.com/Tx0RFtnHxU

— ANI MP/CG/Rajasthan (@ANI_MP_CG_RJ) March 3, 2024

A senior police official said that personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police, along with the Border Security Force (BSF) and district force, were involved in the operation.

While the security forces were patrolling the area and cordoning off the forest, Naxals opened indiscriminate fire upon them, triggering an encounter, said Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P.

In the ensuing gunfight, a police constable and a wanted Naxalite guerrilla commander were killed, the police said, adding that the slain Naxal carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.

“The body of a Naxalite identified as Nagesh was recovered from the spot along with an AK-47 rifle. Nagesh was self styled Partapur Local Guerrilla Squad (LGS) Commander/Area Committee Member (ACM). He had a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head,” the IGP said.

Meanwhile, the martyred police constable was identified as  Constable Ramesh Kurethi of the Bastar Fighters. Kurethi hailed from Sangam village in Pakhanjur area of Kanker, the senior officer said, adding that a search operation was underway at the site.

6 Naxals nabbed in Bijapur

In related news,  six Naxalites, including a woman ultra carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head, were arrested on Sunday from two places in Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh, police said.

Woman Naxal Ram Bai was apprehended from the forest near Jarpalli village under Pamed police station limits by the local police, 204 battalion of Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and 151 battalion of CRPF, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Jitendra Kumar Yadav said.

“The team was out on an anti-Naxal operation in the Jarpalli and Aempur areas. Ram Bai is the president of Maoist front organisation Kamlapur Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangathan (KAMS) and has a reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head. We seized cooker-bomb, detonating cord, and pamphlets related the Maoists’ tactical counter offensive campaign (TCOC) from her,” the SP said.

Five Naxals were held in a separate operation from Jangla, Yadav said.

“Hadma Madkami, Ramesh Awalam alias Bojja, Kumaru Lekam alias Mahru, Maddaram Podiyam and Bomda Kuhrami were apprehended from the forest of Kotrapal when a team of District Reserve Guard and local police were out on road opening and area domination activities,” he said.

Two cooker bombs, two tiffin bombs, two detonators etc were seized from the ultras, who confessed they planned to plant an IED to target security forces, the official informed.

(With inputs from agencies)