Naxalite killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma

A Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Monday, police said.

The gunfight took place in the evening on a forested hill near Pamlur village under Bhejji police station limits when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior official here said. Personnel belonging to the state police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters, the Central Reserve Police Force and its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) were involved in the operation, he said.

The operation was launched on Sunday night based on inputs about the presence of Maoists belonging to their Konta and Kistaram area committees in Pamlur, Dabbakonta, Burklanka and Singhanmadgu villages. After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a male Naxalite along with a firearm was recovered from the spot, he said.

A search operation was still underway in the area, the official added. With this gunfight, 189 Naxalites have been gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in the Bastar region comprising seven districts, including Sukma, police said. On October 4, security forces killed 31 Naxalites in a forest along the border of Narayanpur-Dantewada districts. This was the highest fatalities suffered by Maoists in a single operation since Chhattisgarh's creation 24 years ago.