Two Maoists were gunned down in an encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district on Tuesday, taking the total number of Maoists killed in the state in the first three months of this year to 29. This is already more than the total number of Naxals killed in the whole of last year — 23.
The latest encounter took place around 40 km away from Dantewada district headquarters, in the Purangel Gampur forest area. “Bodies of two Maoists, a man and a woman, have been recovered. Two indigenously made weapons and explosives were seized,” Dantewada SP Gaurav Rai said. All of the 29 Maoists killed this year were killed in the Bastar region. Out of the 29, 13 were killed in Bijapur, five each in Dantewada and Kanker, four in Sukma, and two in Narayanpur. This year has also seen the deaths of 12 civilians and six security personnel in Naxal-related incidents.
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However, there have also been allegations of fake encounters from families of those killed. Local residents and relatives of three people killed in what security forces said was an anti-Maoist encounter in Kanker on February 25 marched to the police station in Koylibeda, alleging that the encounter was fake. They said the three were not Maoists. Subsequently, a magisterial probe was ordered into the incident.
Anti-Naxal operations in the state have been stepped up since December last year, after the Assembly elections. In January this year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a review meeting with security forces and all stakeholders, asking them to ensure that Left Wing Extremism (LWE) ends in the next three years.
Since then, the deployment of security forces has been increased in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts – Kanker, Kondagaon, Narayanpur, Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur and Sukma. More than 14 police camps have been made by police in Maoist strongholds including Puarti which is home village of dreaded Madvi Hidma who was heading People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA). Hidma’s successor Barse Deva is also from Puarti.
