Eight Maoists and a police constable were killed in an encounter in the forests of Abujhmad in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Saturday.

Sources said the anti-Maoist operation was undertaken in the small hours of Saturday following inputs about the presence of Maoists in the jungles of Kutul, Farsabeda and Kodameta.

“Eight Maoists were killed during the fierce encounter. One jawan was also killed
and two others suffered injuries,” a Union home ministry official said.

The operation was undertaken by the District Reserve Guards and special task force from four districts — Narayanpur, Kondagaon, Kanker and Dantewada — and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

Constable Nitesh Ekka was killed while fellow policemen Kailash Netam and Lekhram Netam suffered bullet injuries.

"The injured constables were airlifted to Raipur. They are out of danger," the ministry official said.

The bodies of eight Maoists were recovered along with an Insas rifle, a .303 rifle and a barrel grenade launcher.

The Abujhmad forests, spread over 3,900sqkm in south Chhattisgarh, are part of the Bastar Lok Sabha seat and have become inaccessible to security forces. Intelligence reports suggest that Maoists control the forested area and have set up camps to provide arms training to recruits.

According to the Union home ministry official, 131 rebels have been killed in anti-Maoist operations in 2024 so far while 22 civilians and 10 security personnel have lost theirlives.