- Monday, March 31, 2025
The gunfight broke out in the forest in Kerlapal, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation
By: India Weekly
AT LEAST 16 Naxalites were killed, and two security personnel sustained injuries in a major anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Saturday (29), officials said.
The injured jawans belonged to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a unit of the state police, they said.
The gunfight broke out at around 8 am in the forest under the Kerlapal police station area, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range Sundarraj P told PTI.
“Bodies of 16 Naxalites have been recovered from the encounter site so far. The operation is still underway,” he said.
The IG said personnel from the DRG and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were involved in the operation launched on Friday night based on inputs about the presence of Maoists in the Kerlapal area.
He said two DRG personnel sustained minor injuries in the face-off, and their condition was stated to be normal.
Sundarraj said a large cache of firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, self-loading rifle (SLR), INSAS rifle, .303 rifle, a rocket launcher and barrel grenade launcher (BGL), and explosive materials were recovered from the spot.
A search operation was still underway in the area, he added.
With the latest action, 132 Naxalites have been gunned down in separate encounters in the state so far this year.
Of them, 116 were eliminated in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, including Bijapur.
Amit Shah’s appeal
Union home minister Amit Shah on Saturday (29) wrote on X, “Another strike on Naxalism! Our security agencies have neutralised 16 Naxalites and recovered a massive cache of automatic weapons in an operation in Sukma.”
The home minister said under the leadership of prime minister, the government is resolved to eradicate Naxalism before March 31, 2026.
“My appeal to those with arms is that weapons and violence cannot bring change; only peace and development can,” he said.
IED blast: Woman injured
In a separate incident, a woman was injured after an improvised explosive device (IED) planted by Naxalites went off in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district early Saturday (29), police said.
The blast occurred around 6.30 am near Bodga village under Bhairamgarh police station limits when the woman ventured into a forest to collect mahua fruits, an official said.
The village is on the other side of the Indravati River, more than 400 km from the capital Raipur.
As per preliminary information, the woman was returning from the forest when she came in contact with an IED, triggering the blast, he said. (PTI)
