Security forces gunned down three alleged members of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) in an encounter in Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh on Friday.
“A joint team of Sukma District Reserve Guard (Chhattisgarh police’s special anti-Naxal unit) and Chhattisgarh Special Task Force had gone to Gattapad, Mukraj Metta and Bandi Metta area for an anti-Maoist operation on Thursday. The Maoists had laid an ambush for this team near Tokanpalli village,” Sukma district police said in a statement.
“At around 10 a.m. on Friday, the Maoists opened indiscriminate firing on the joint team. Our team retaliated the fire in self-defense. The Maoists fled from the spot taking advantage of forest and hills. The exchange of fire lasted for about half an hour. A search operation was carried out in the area after the encounter in which three bodies of male Maoists in olive green uniform were recovered,” they said
The joint team also recovered four weapons, including one 315 rifle and a pistol from the spot of the encounter. “Ten detonators, one bomb, codex wire, explosives, Maoist uniforms, backpacks and other Maoist material were recovered from the spot of the encounter,” the police statement added.
Two bodies identified
The police identified two out of three bodies. “One of the dead Maoists was identified as Renga, the Deputy Commander of the Maoists’ Dornapal Local Operating Squad. The other Maoist was identified as Vetti Deva. We are trying to ascertain the identity of the third body. The spot of the encounter had many blood stains and signs that the Maoists dragged bodies along with them. This suggests that many more Maoists were either killed or injured in Friday’s encounter,” Sukma police said.
