Six of the eight Naxalites killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district on Saturday were senior rank cadres and carried cumulative cash rewards of Rs 48 lakh, police said on Sunday.

The dead Naxalits belonged to Maoists’ PLGA (People's Liberation Guerrilla Army) military company no. 1 and Maad division supply team formations, they said.

Police on Saturday claimed to have gunned down eight Naxalites during an encounter in the forests near Kutul-Farasbeda and Kodtameta villages in the district.

“Six of the eight killed cadres were identified as Sudru, Vargesh, Mamta, Samira, Kosi and Moti, who were active at different capacities in PLGA company no.1 of Maoists and carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh each on their heads,” Inspector General of Police, Bastar range Sundarraj P said in a press conference here.

The identity of two other Naxalites was yet to be ascertained, he said.

An operation under security forces’ anti-Naxalite ‘Maad Bachao Abhiyan’ was launched late on June 12 after inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in Kutul, Farasbeda, Kodtameta and Adingpar villages of the district, the IG said.

Personnel from the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and STF, along with the 53rd battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and 135th battalion of the Border Security Force (BSF) took part in the operation, he said, adding that women commandos also delivered a key role.

Around 7 am on Saturday, armed Maoists opened fire on security personnel in a forest near Kutul-Farasbeda and Kodtameta villages leading to the gunbattle. After the encounter ended, the bodies of eight Naxalites, including four women, clad in ‘uniform’ were recovered from different places, the IG said.

Several other Naxalites escaped taking cover of dense forest and hills, he said The forces recovered one INSAS rifle, two 303 rifles, three 315 bore rifles, one barrel grenade launcher (BGL) and large quantities of explosives, medicines and other daily-use items.

Blood stains spotted at the site indicate that several other Naxalites might have been injured or killed in the gunfight, he said.

While STF constable, Nitesh Ekka (27), was also killed in the encounter, two of his colleagues, Lekhram Netam (28) and Kailash Netam (33), were injured. They have been admitted to a hospital in capital Raipur.

This is the second major success of the ‘Maad Bachao Abhiyan’ of Narayanpur police within a week and the fourth major success in 45 days, he said.

Due to better coordination between the local police and central paramilitary force and better strategy, bodies of 131 Naxalites were recovered after encounters across Bastar division, comprising Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar, Bijapur, Dantewada and Sukma districts, so far this year, he said.

On June 5, six Naxalites were gunned down in an encounter in Narayanpur, while seven were killed on the Narayanpur-Bijapur border on May 23.

At least 12 Naxalites were eliminated in an encounter in Bijapur on May 10, and 10 cadres, including three women, were neutralised along the border of Narayanpur and Kanker districts on April 30.

On April 16, police said, 29 Naxalites were gunned down in a face-off with security forces in Kanker district.

“Abhujmaad (in Narayanpur district) had been suffering from Naxal violence and fear for 40 years but now the natives, tribals, and villagers are imagining it free from violence, fear and Naxalism. Successful anti-Naxal campaigns have been speeding up development,” the IG said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai, his deputy Vijay Sharma and many others paid tribute to the martyred jawan in Raipur. Later, his mortal remains were taken to his home district Jashpur in a helicopter where his last rites were performed in the evening, police said.

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