31 suspected Maoists, 2 security personnel killed in gunfight in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur

Thirty-one suspected Maoists and two security personnel were killed in a gunfight at Indravati National Park in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Sunday, reported The Indian Express.

The security personnel killed in the gunfight were from the District Reserve Guard and the Special Task Force, Sundarraj P, the inspector general of police for Bastar Range, told the newspaper. Both are state-level forces specialized in anti-Maoist operations.

“Two other jawans have suffered injuries and a helicopter is taking off to evacuate them to Raipur for treatment,” the official was quoted as saying.

The gunfight broke out after a joint security forces team, acting on intelligence about the presence of suspected Maoists, moved towards the area in the park.

This is the second such incident at the Indravati National Park area this year. Five suspected Maoists were killed on January 12 in a gunfight with security personnel.

The gunfight on Sunday took the number of suspected Maoists killed in gunfights with security forces in the state since the beginning of this year to 79.

Sixteen of these suspected Maoists were killed in the Kulhadighat area of the Udanti-Sitanadi Tiger Reserve, close to Chhattisgarh’s border with Odisha’s Nuapada district on January 21. Twelve were killed in Bijapur district on January 16.

Nine security personnel and a civilian have also died this year.

In 2024, 217 suspected Maoists were killed by security forces.

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