Two alleged members of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) (CPI-M) were killed during a gun battle with the police in the Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh on Sunday.
“An exchange of fire took place today morning between the Maoists and (a joint team of) the District Reserve Guard and the Special Task Force of Chhattisgarh police near Kasaram village under the Kistaram Police Station limits of Sukma. Two Maoists were killed in the encounter and their dead bodies recovered along with weapons,” said Assistant Inspector General of Police Devnath of the Anti-Naxal Operation (ANO) unit, Chhattisgarh.
In a separate incident, the Maharashtra Police destroyed a Maoist camp on the border of Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra, and recovered weapons and horses.
“A special police team headed by Additional Superintendent of Police (Operations) Mr. Maheshwar Reddy, launched an anti-Maoist operation in the Abujhmad area on the border of the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra and the Narayanpur district of Chhattisgarh after receiving some specific inputs about a Maoist camp in the area. This team had an encounter with the Maoists near the Tundewra and Kupnar villages and forced them to flee from the spot of their camp, leaving behind weapons and six horses. Six weapons and other material of daily use were recovered from the campsite,” Gadchiroli district Superintendent of Police in a press release.
This is the first time horses have been found in a Maoist camp.