More than 15 Maoists have been killed in the Karegutta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border in a major operation by a joint team of security forces, officials said Wednesday.
This takes the total number of Maoists killed since the start of the operation more than two weeks ago to 19. According to officials, the number is expected to go up further and search operations are continuing.
“More than 15 Maoists have been killed. All security forces are safe and fully committed to ensuring a safe and secure Bastar region. Search operations are on,” said an official.
On Monday, a body of a Maoist cadre was recovered with a .303 rifle.
In a related development, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Assistant Commandant Sagar Borade, 32, who suffered serious injuries on his left-leg in an improvised explosive device (IED) blast on Sunday morning underwent a surgery in AIIMS Delhi on Monday, where the leg was medically amputated to prevent spread of infection.
A CRPF official confirmed to The Indian Express that Borade on Sunday morning was leading a team to evacuate another jawan who had suffered injuries in an IED blast. “Borade was leading the evacuation team from the front when he inadvertently stepped on an IED hidden in the ground which caused grievous injuries to his leg,” said the official.
The operation, Mission Sankalp, began on April 21 and involves the mobilisation of 24,000 troops, including those from the Indian Air Force, to the inter-state border. It is still underway.
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So far, over 250 IEDs in and around the hills have been found by the forces. The forces had earlier said key Maoist leaders are holed up in the hills, safeguarded by their strongest military formation, Battalion 1 of the People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army, the armed unit of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist).
In a statement on Tuesday, the Chhattisgarh police said, “Based on certain facts and our knowledge so far, senior Maoist leaders have either been killed or suffered injuries in the encounter. However, due to difficult geographical conditions, the security forces have not been able to recover the bodies of all the injured or killed Naxalites.”
Inspector General of Police for Bastar Range, Sundarraj P, said, “Despite difficult geographical conditions and numerous challenges, the security forces are carrying forward this decisive operation against Left Wing Extremism with full commitment and determination. Many hideouts and bunkers have been destroyed.”
“Thousands of kilogrammes of explosive material/ration material/medicines, items of daily use and detonators were recovered from Naxal hideouts and bunkers,” he said.
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The 24,000-strong troops comprise jawans from central and state forces — District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF), Bastar Fighters, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and CRPF jawans.
This year, 129 Maoists have been gunned down in the Bastar region, while 146 Maoists have been killed in Chhattisgarh overall. A total of 219 Maoists were killed last year in the state, including 217 in Bastar.