In a major triumph for security personnel, at least 10 suspected Naxals, including a senior leader, were gunned down in an intense battle in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district on Thursday. The firefight broke out during a combined anti-Naxalite operation in a thick forest.
The late top leader has been named as Modem Balakrishna, or Manoj. The encounter occurred within a forest belt under the limits of the Mainpur police station, said Raipur Range Inspector General of Police Amresh Mishra.
The operation, still in progress on Thursday evening, used a multi-agency team of officers from the Special Task Force (STF), the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite CRPF unit, and other state police forces.
This new encounter is a part of the stepped-up crackdown on Maoist activity in the state. The successful operation follows several other recent successes for the security forces. On Wednesday, 16 Maoists have surrendered in Narayanpur, explaining themselves as disillusioned with their "hollow" ideology and the brutalities they saw being perpetrated against innocent tribals. Yesterday, a Maoist worth a reward of ₹8 lakh was gunned down in an encounter in the Kanker district.
Authorities have declared that these operations are geared towards dismantling the Maoist network and persuading cadres to shun the path of violence and merge with the mainstream.
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