Two naxalites killed in Chhattisgarh encounter

Two Naxalites were killed on Thursday in an encounter with security personnel in a forest along the Indravati river, police said. The exchange of fire occurred in the morning during an anti-Naxalite operation carried out by a joint team of security forces, according to a senior police official.

Following the encounter, the bodies of the two Maoists, clad in uniform, were recovered along with a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), an INSAS rifl e, and a 12-bore rifle. Search operations in the area are still underway, the official added.

This incident raises the number of Maoists killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year to at least 25. Earlier, on January 3, 14 Maoists were killed in two encounters in the Bastar region, which includes Bijapur among its seven districts.

Last year, security forces in Chhattisgarh killed 285 Maoists in various encounters. The Centre has set a deadline of March 31 this year to eliminate Left-Wing Extremism from the country.