Bijapur encounter: Naxalites caught unaware as cops struck from Maharashtra side

Raipur: Chhattisgarh police took Naxalites by surprise and succeeded in surrounding them by launching their operation in Bijapur district, during which 31 ultras were killed, from neighbouring Maharashtra, officials said on Tuesday.

In one of the biggest strikes against Naxalites in Chhattisgarh, security forces gunned down 31 ultras, including 11 women, on a forested hill in the Indravati National Park area on Sunday.

Two security personnel were also killed and as many others injured in the gunfight.

"We had inputs about the presence of cadres belonging to Telangana state committee, west Bastar division and national park area committee of Maoists in the remote jungles of Indravati National Park area for a meeting ahead of their Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC)," a police official told PTI.

Naxalites carry out the TCOC between March and June during which they step up their activities.

Combat units of the Chhattisgarh police's District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Bastar Fighters were mobilised from different directions in the area on February 7, the official said.

"To strategically utilise the element of surprise, some of the teams were mobilised into the Indravati National Park from the launch pads of Maharashtra police in the neighbouring state," he said.

On Sunday morning, patrolling teams zeroed in on a hill where the movement of Naxalites was spotted.

The exchange of fire broke out at around 8 am as security forces started encircling the hill, the official said.

"Naxalites split into two groups amid the gunfight. While one group, apparently comprising cadres of Telangana state committee, started retreating, the other group remained engaged in the gun battle," he said.

The patrolling teams entering from Maharashtra side appeared to have taken Naxalites by surprise as they did not anticipate the movement of forces from that direction and were outnumbered. The intermittent exchange of firing lasted till around 4 pm, the official said.

The strategy to change the approach routes helped in achieving a major success in the operation as 31 Naxalites were neutralised, the official said.

The encounter site is nearly 80 km away from the Bijapur district headquarters and 40 km inside Chhattisgarh from Maharashtra border. Security personnel covered around 100 km on foot during the three-day-long operation, he said.

Following the gunfight, security forces brought the bodies of Maoists with the help of makeshift sling for about five km following which support for air transport was sought, he said.

"It was not possible for security forces to carry the 31 bodies on their shoulders while walking on foot for about 45 km as they were already tired, being out on the operation since February 7. So, while evacuating bodies of the martyred jawans and two injured personnel, we also decided to airlift the bodies of Naxalites," he said.

Some jawans, mostly women commandos, who were suffering from dehydration were also airlifted to Bijapur, the official said.

Twenty-four firearms and a huge cache of explosives have been recovered from the encounter site, he said.

Five of the 31 Naxalites killed have been identified as dreaded cadres, carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 25 lakh.

Of the five, Hunga Karma, a divisional committee member of west Bastar division of Maoists, carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh, the official said.

"The west and south Bastar divisions of Maoists are their strongest formations in the region and in the last one year, several key cadres of the west Bastar division have been eliminated," the official said.

Out of the 81 Naxalites gunned down in the state so far this year, 65 were killed in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Bijapur.

Last year, 219 Naxalites were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh, according to police.