Two Naxalites gunned down in Chhattisgarh encounter

Two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces on Saturday in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district, the police confirmed. The gunfight occurred in the morning in a forest under the Kistaram police station, where a joint team of security personnel was conducting an anti-Naxalite operation, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.

The operation, which began on Friday, was carried out by personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and COBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), an elite unit of the CRPF. The operation was launched following intelligence inputs about the presence of naxalites in the area.

So far, the bodies of two Naxalites have been recovered from the encounter site, and a search operation is still ongoing. With this encounter, the total number of Naxalites killed in separate clashes in the state this year has risen to 83. Of these, 67 were killed in the Bastar division, which includes seven districts, including Sukma.