Three members of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) were killed in an anti-Maoist operation of the security forces in Rajnandgoan district of Chhattisgarh on Wednesday night.
“Three dreaded Maoists were killed in the forest of Kopenkadka area under Khadgoan police station limits of Manpur subdivision [of Rajnandgoan] at around 10 p.m. on Wednesday [during an operation] by the District forces and the Indo Tibetan Border Force. Three automatic weapons were also recovered [during the operation],” Rajandangoan district Superintendent of Police Prashant Agrawal said in a statement.
The three Maoists, gunned down by the security forces, were identified as the CPI (Maoist) area committee member Mahesh, area committee member and Palleamadi local operating squad commander Rakesh and Palleamadi LOS deputy commander Ranjit.
“All three were residents of Bastar region [of South Chhattisgarh]. All three carried a combined reward of ₹13 lakhs. The operation was led by the Sub-divisional Police officer of Manpur Mr. Akash Giripunje, Inspector Sonal Gwala, Inspector Ajit Ogre, Sub-Inspector Bharat Bareth and the ITBP [officers],” the SP added.
The security forces managed to recover one AK-47 rifle, one self loading rifle and one INSAS rifle from the spot of the encounter.
The recovery of AK-47 and INSAS rifle from the Maoists killed during Wednesday night’s operation suggests that they were senior Maoist leaders as the sophisticated automatic weapons like AK-47s are given only to senior and important leaders in the CPI (Maoist) hierarchy.
