Over 30 suspected Maoists killed in security operation in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar

Over 30 suspected Maoists were killed on Friday in a security operation in Chattisgarh’s Bastar, The Indian Express reported quoting unidentified police officials.

This reportedly marked the deadliest such operation in Chhattisgarh’s 24-year history. The state was carved out of Madhya Pradesh in 2000.

The suspected militants were reportedly gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Abujhmad, a 6,000 square kilometre uncharted forest near the state’s border with Maharashtra.

The area is a stronghold of Maoist militants.

According to the Bastar police, the gunfight began around 1 pm along the border between Narayanpur and Dantewada districts, near the villages of Govel, Nendur and Thulthuli.

“Acting on the information [intelligence reports], a team of District Reserve Guards of Dantewada and Narayanpur were sent to the jungle for an anti-Naxal operation on Thursday night,” an unidentified officer said.

The Districts Reserve Guards is a specialised unit comprising former Maoist militants who have laid down arms.

The bodies of the suspected Maoists who were killed on Friday are yet to be identified. More details about the encounter were not known as the security personnel had yet to return from the jungle, an official said.

In a statement released Friday afternoon, the police said that a cache of weapons, including an AK-47 rifle and a self-loading rifle, was recovered from the...

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