Naxalite killed in encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur

Bijapur: A Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday, police said. The gun battle took place in the morning in a forest in the western region of the district when a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, a police official here said. After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a Naxalite along with one 12-bore gun, a Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL), explosives and other Maoist-related materials was recovered from the encounter site, he said. The operation is still underway, and more details will be shared once it is over, he added. With the latest action, 244 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year. Of them, 215 were eliminated in the Bastar division, comprising seven districts, while 27 others were gunned down in the Gariaband district, a part of the Raipur division. Two other Naxalites were killed in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district in Durg division. In a massive success, security personnel killed 10 Naxalites, including Central Committee Member of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) Modem Balakrishna, in an encounter in the Gariaband district. These Naxalites carried a total bounty of Rs 5.25 crore. On Friday, two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district.