Joint forces neutralise 6 Maoists in two-day Bijapur National Park operation

 

Security forces recovered the bodies of two uniformed Maoist cadres and seized weapons after fresh encounters in Bijapur district on Saturday afternoon, as a large search operation continued in the National Park area.

 

Officials said the latest recovery on January 18 took the total number of Maoist bodies found during the ongoing Bijapur encounter and search operation to six, including four women cadres. Security teams also recovered an INSAS rifle and a .303 rifle from the latest encounter site.

 

Police confirmed that the joint operation has yielded a total of six graded weapons so far. These include two AK-47 rifles, one INSAS rifle, two .303 rifles and one carbine, all seized from different encounter locations during the operation.

 

Superintendent of Police, Bijapur, Dr Jitendra Yadav said security forces and Maoists exchanged fire multiple times on Saturday, continuing the operation that began a day earlier in the forested and hilly terrain of the National Park region. He said security teams maintained pressure in the area and continued intensive search activities in nearby zones.

 

Teams comprising District Reserve Guard, CoBRA and Special Task Force personnel moved into the area, triggering intermittent firing between the two sides from the morning of January 17. During search activities on that day, security forces recovered two Maoist bodies by afternoon. Another exchange of fire in the evening led to the recovery of two more bodies.

 

On January 18, continued search operations after fresh encounters resulted in the recovery of two additional Maoist bodies, officials said. Security forces kept the combing operation active in surrounding areas to trace any remaining cadres and recover material.

 

 

Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattlingam said personnel from DRG, CoBRA, STF, local police and central armed police forces continued coordinated action in the Bastar region with a focus on security and public welfare. He said teams carried out precise and coordinated operations against armed Maoist cadres in the region.

 

 

Police said preliminary identification confirmed that the deceased Maoist cadres included National Park Area Committee members DVCM Dilip Bedja, ACM Madvi Kosa, ACM Lakkhi Madkam and party member Radha Metta. Identification of the remaining cadres continued as part of standard procedures.

 

 

Authorities said security forces maintained heightened vigilance in the area, with search operations continuing across forest and hill zones of Bijapur district.