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Updated 20:47 IST, February 2nd 2025

Eight Maoists with Rs 16 Lakh Bounty Killed in Chhattisgarh Encounter

The eight Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday.

Reported by: Digital Desk
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8 Maoists killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur carried Rs 16 lakh bounty
8 Maoists killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur carried Rs 16 lakh bounty | Image: PTI/ Representational

Bijapur: The eight Maoists killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh ’s Bijapur district on Saturday were senior cadres carrying cumulative rewards of Rs 16 lakh, police have said.

Eight members of the banned Maoist organization were killed during an anti-Naxal operation in a forest near Todka village, under the jurisdiction of Gangaloor police station. Two personnel from the District Reserve Guard, a special unit of the state police, sustained injuries in the gunfight.

Among the neutralized Maoists, Kamlesh Neelkanth (24), a member of the Gangaloor area committee under the Maoists' west Bastar division, had a bounty of ₹5 lakh on his head, a senior police official said on Sunday.

Two others, identified as Tati Kamlu and Mangal Tati from the Gangaloor Local Organization Squad (LOS), carried a reward of ₹3 lakh each.

The remaining five—Lachchu Potam (40), Shankar Tati (26), Raju Tati, Vijju Padam (22), and Sannu Tati (40)—were active members of various Maoist wings and had bounties of ₹1 lakh each.

Security forces recovered an Insas rifle, a Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) with 10 shells, two 12-bore rifles, four muzzle-loading rifles, and a large stockpile of explosives from the encounter site.

With this operation, a total of 49 Naxalites have been killed in different encounters across the state this year, including 33 in the Bastar division, which spans seven districts, including Bijapur.

On January 20-21, security forces neutralized 16 Naxalites in an encounter in the Gariaband district, part of the Raipur division.

Last year, security forces eliminated 219 Naxalites in separate encounters across the state, according to police records.

(With PTI inputs)

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Published 19:23 IST, February 2nd 2025