4 Maoists killed, weapons seized following exchange of fire with Gadchiroli police, CRPF
The operation, led by M Ramesh, Additional Superintendent of Police, Administration, and 12 C-60 parties (300 personnel) along with a component of the CRPF, was launched on Thursday afternoon from Kawande and Nelgunda towards the bank of Indravati amid heavy rain. C-60 is a special commando unit of the Maharashtra Police formed to deal with Maoists.
The action came after credible intelligence was received about the presence of Maoist formations along the border, near the recently opened Forward Operating Base (FOB) in Kawande.
On Friday morning, when the cordon was being laid and the river bank searched, Maoists started firing indiscriminately at the C-60 commandos, which led to effective retaliation by the forces. The intermittent exchange of fire continued for almost two hours.
When the area was searched by the forces later, the bodies of four Maoists were recovered, besides one automatic self-loading rifle, two .303 rifles, and a Bharmar (locally made gun). Apart from this, walkie-talkies, camping material, Naxal literature, etc, were seized from the spot.
The area is currently being searched and further operations are on to locate the remaining Maoist cadres in the region.
The operation comes two days after 27 Maoists, including CPI (Maoist) general secretary Nambala Keshava Rao alias Basava Raju, were killed by security forces in an encounter in the Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district.
Basava Raju's death is believed to be a major blow to the Communist Party of India (Maoist), intelligence officials said, because he was the link between the northern and southern commands of the banned outfit.
The developments come against the backdrop of a deadline of March 31, 2026, set by Union Home Minister Amit Shah to eradicate Left Wing Extremism in the country.
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