18 Maoists killed in two Chhattisgarh gunfights

RAIPUR: Security forces shot dead at least 18 Maoists, including a top insurgent leader, in twin encounters in the Sukma and Bijapur districts of Chhattisgarh on Saturday, officials aware of the matter said-the latest in a series of operations against Left Wing Extremism (LWE) in the region.

- Ritesh Mishra

According to officers, the Sukma gunfight broke out at around 8am after a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) nearly 1,000 personnel launched a search operation in the Gogunda, Nendum, and Upampalli areas of the district.

"A joint team of DRG Sukma and CRPF was dispatched on an anti-Naxal operation on Friday, and on Saturday morning the firing started. After the firing stopped, police found the bodies of 17 Maoists from the spot," Bastar's inspector general of police (IGP) Sunderaj P said.

One of the deceased Maoists was identified as Kuhdami Jagdish, a top rebel leader who was carrying a cash reward of Rs 25 lakh, the IGP added.

"State Zonal Committee Member (SZCM) Kuhdami Jagdish, alias Budhra, a Maoist leader and Darbha Division Secretary with a bounty of Rs 25 lakh, was also killed in the encounter. He was wanted in more than a dozen cases in the Sukma district," he said.

Officers said that he was involved in the May 25, 2013, Darbha Ghati attack when Maoists ambushed a convoy of the Congress, killing 27 people including 10 security personnel, and also this year's January 6 IED attack in Narayanpur, in which eight security personnel and a civilian driver were killed.