Seven suspected Maoists killed in gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand

Seven suspected Maoists were killed in separate gunfights with security forces in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand on Saturday, The New Indian Express reported.

In Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, four suspected Maoists were reportedly killed during a gunfight that broke out in a forested area in the southwestern region of the district.

The clash began in the evening during a search operation launched after intelligence inputs indicated suspected Maoist activity in the area, the police said.

“So far, four bodies of Maoists have been recovered,” P Sundarraj, inspector general of police, Bastar Range was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Weapons and explosive materials were also recovered from the site, he added.

In a separate incident in Jharkhand’s Gumla district, three suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces.

The police said they had received intelligence inputs that members of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad, a splinter group of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), had assembled in the Ghaghra police station area.

Based on the input, a joint operation was launched by the Jharkhand Jaguar, a special anti-Maoist task force, and the Gumla Police.

“One of the deceased was identified as Dilip Lohra (32) of Belagada in Ghaghra [block in Gumla district],” Gumla Superintendent of Police Haris Bin Zaman was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express. “The identification...

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