The Bastar region of Chhattisgarh continuous to be a hotbed of Maoist activities, with 47 security personnel losing their lives in 2015. Around 115 security men suffered serious injuries during the same time span. Forty-seven civilians were killed by the ultras in 2015, according to statistics released by Chhattisgarh police’s Anti-Naxal Operation (ANO) unit on Wednesday.
The security forces managed to kill 46 Maoists and recovered 167 weapons, including an AK-47, an SLR, a 303 gun and four 9 mm pistols.
“Most of our men died in independent killings rather than during anti-Maoist operations,” R.K. Vij, the Additional Director-General (ADG) of Police, ANO told reporters here. Around 327 alleged Maoists surrendered before the police during 2015.
This was the second consecutive year when a large number of Maoist surrenders were reported in Bastar. In 2014, Bastar police had claimed that 421 “Maoists” surrendered before police as compared the meagre 39 surrenders in 2013.
