Sukma: In another anti-Naxal operation in Chhattisgarh, a Naxalite was killed during an encounter between the Naxalites and the security forces in Sukma district of the state on Saturday, sources said.
The encounter took place at Belpocha village under Konta police station limits of Sukma. Superintendent of Police Sukma, Kiran Chavan confirmed the killing of one Naxal adding a weapon had been recovered from the slain's possession. The identity of the slain Naxalite was not immediately known.
The encounter comes a day ahead of the 11th anniversary of the Naxalite attack of May 26, 2013 in which over two dozen people including then Congress state chief Nand Kumar Patel and former state minister Mahendra Kumar were killed in Jhiram valley of Sukma district. Naxalites had called a bandh on Sunday in Sukma. In a bid to implement the bandh, the Naxalites had circulated many pamphlets and leaflets in Aavapalli Kutru Bhopalpatnam area. On the night of 24 May, Naxalites had dug the Aavapalli-Usoor road at many places to implement the bandh. The Naxalites called the Vishnu Sai led BJP government as “anti-Naxal”. The route has been repaired by the security forces.
The anti-Naxal operation comes a day after a 21-hour-long encounter between the Naxalites and the security forces ended along theborder areas of Naxal-affected Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh. In the encounter, security forces claimed to have killed eight Naxalites in the encounter while many more are believed to have been injured. The encounter broke out during a joint search operation by teams of STF along with DRG and Bastar fighters of Narayanpur, Dantewada and Bastar districts following inputs about the presence of Naxalites in Platoon No. 16 and Indravati Area Committee in the border area of Narayanpur-Bijapur districts.
Earlier, in another encounter in Sukma on May 18, one Naxalite was killed in the firefight with security forces in the district.
