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Time of India
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Time of India
Bloody gunfight in Indravati river, 300 C60 commandos lay siege to island, wipe out oldest ‘dalam'
Nagpur: In one of the fiercest encounters that erupted in a river, not in the booby-trapped jungles, Maharashtra's 300 C-60 commandos waded through the Indravati and gunned down the Bhamragarh dalam commander and three other guerrillas, including two women rebels on Friday. The gunfight continued for three hours with commandos in waist-deep water moving fast to lay siege to a dry island patch in the middle of the river, which separates Maharashtra from Chhattisgarh. Besides engaging guerrillas in a bloody riverine battle, the daring operation wiped out one of the oldest armed formations of People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) in Gadchiroli district, which had dug in heels for almost four decades. The operation led by 12 rain-drenched teams of commandos, who were mobilised from Maharashtra's frontier police post of Kawande. While bodies of the dalam commander and three cadres, including two women, were recovered from the site, two other rebels are still missing. Security forces, under additional SP M Ramesh, waited in ambush for 36 hours in pounding rain at night, before surrounding the island in the riverbed where the Bhamragarh dalam guerrillas were camping. A team of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was also present to assist the C-60 commandos. This siege triggered intermittent firing before bodies of the Maoists were spotted on the ground. "We had intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoists near Kawande, where we opened our last post. We launched the operation despite inclement weather at daybreak. It was a strategic success of our team," said SP Gadchiroli, Neelotpal, adding he's still probing the whereabouts of two missing cadres. A self-loading rifle, two .303 rifles, one Bharmar rifle, and more than 100 rounds of ammunition were seized from the encounter site. With the Bhamragarh dalam wrapped up by security forces in the latest face-off, Maharashtra is now left with around seven members of the Gatta dalam, three of Aheri, and about 15 members of last standing formation of the battle-hardened Company No. 10 in Maharashtra, which is based deep inside Abujmarh. Commandos are now pushing to decimate Company No. 10. The action came shortly after Maoist general secretary, Basavaraju, was gunned down along with 26 others in their stronghold. The decimation of the Bhamragarh dalam dealt a deadly blow to the Maoist movement in Maharashtra, with the rebel base in Gadchiroli totally cut off from their guerrilla headquarters of Abujmarh. Police sources stated the Bhamragarh dalam members had narrowly escaped a week ago at a location inside Abujmarh from where they abandoned their weapons and fled. Commander Sonnu Masa Pungati, known for his expertise in improvised explosive device (IED), was among those killed, along with Ashok Wadde, who had 17 cases against him, including five murders. Pungati and Wadde were residents of Kawande hamlet, which was once part of the Maoist's liberated corridor. Woman guerrilla Binjyo Hoyami, a Chhattisgarh native, who had five murder cases against her was neutralised along with her comrade Karuna Pandu, alias Mamita, resident of Gadchiroli. "We repeatedly appealed to Maoists to give up arms and return to the mainstream. With the loss of public support and military prowess, only 40 cadres are currently left in Maharashtra," said Neelotpal, adding Maharashtra would meet the March 2026 deadline set by the Union home minister. The operation was also monitored by DIG(Naxal range) Ankit Goyal. IG, State Anti-Naxal Operation Cell, Sandip Patil, stated the opening of the last post at Kawande led to the recent success. "Kawande was their last bastion on the side of Bhamragarh on the banks of Indravati. We dismantled their stone memorials and removed IEDs from the area, and ousted the 'janatana sarkar' to usher peace and development," said IG Patil. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Brother's Day wishes , messages and quotes !
New Indian Express
24-05-2025
- New Indian Express
4 Naxals killed in Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border gunfight
MUMBAI: Four Maoists were on Friday gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district adjoining Chhattisgarh. Based on intelligence inputs about presence of Maoists on Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border, an operation was launched on Thursday, police said. 'A dozen C-60 parties (300 commandos) and a component of the CRPF launched the operation from Kawande and Nelgunda areas towards the banks of the Indravati amidst heavy rains,' a police official said. On Friday, when the cordon was being laid and river banks were being searched, Maoists started indiscriminate firing on C-60 commandos, leading to a retaliation by security forces, said the official. Exchange of fire continued for almost two hours and a search of the area by forces led to the recovery of bodies of four Maoists, he added. The operation was led by M Ramesh, ASP, administration. An automatic self-loading rifle, two .303 rifles, a Bharmar gun, walkie talkies, camping material and Naxal literature were recovered from the spot, police said.
Indian Express
23-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
4 Maoists killed, weapons seized following exchange of fire with Gadchiroli police, CRPF
Four Maoists were killed on the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in a joint operation by the Gadchiroli police and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) on Friday. A few weapons and related paraphernalia were also seized. 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.
Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Indian Express
Maoist camp busted in Gadchiroli following encounter, weapons recovered
The Gadchiroli police in Maharashtra on Monday said they busted a Maoist camp and recovered two weapons, several live rounds, detonators, and other paraphernalia following an exchange of fire along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. An official said credible intelligence was received Sunday afternoon that the Bhamragad Dalam of Maoists had set up a camp near the newly opened foot overbridge in Kawande, Gadchiroli. Based on the intelligence inputs received, an operation was launched on Sunday evening with 200 C-60 commandos led by M Ramesh, Additional Superintendent of Police, Administration. C-60 is a special commando unit of the Maharashtra Police formed to deal with Maoists. On Monday morning, as they were carrying out a search of the area, Maoist formations fired indiscriminately at the commandos, which led the force to retaliate strongly, the official said. The exchange of fire with Maoists happened intermittently at three different locations over a period of two hours. Eventually, the Maoists fled and the commando team searched the post, leading to the recovery of an INSAS automatic weapon and a single-shot rifle, one magazine, several live rounds, detonators, and a large amount of Naxal literature and other paraphernalia. An official said the C-60 commandos destroyed the Maoists' camp completely, adding that they have not ruled out the chances that Maoists who got injured or killed during the forces' retaliation may have been dragged away by others. This comes right after a massive anti-insurgency operation involving 28,000 troops and the Indian Air Force (IAF) was called off in Karegutta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. The operation, launched to help locate the top leadership of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), was stopped 20 days after it began. On May 8, three junior commandos of the Greyhounds, Telangana's anti-Maoist task force, were killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists at the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border area, top Telangana police officers said.
