Naxalite with Rs 8 lakh bounty killed in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh

Gariaband: A hardcore Naxalite carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, police said on Saturday. The gunfight took place on Friday late evening in a forest near Motipani village under Jugad police station limits when a joint team of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and E-30, a unit of the district police, was out on an anti-Naxal operation, a senior police official said.

The operation was launched based on inputs about the movement of Naxalites in the area, located over 180 km away from capital Raipur, he said. After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a Naxalite, one self-loading rifle (SLR) and a huge cache of explosive material were recovered from the spot, he said. The killed cadre was identified as Yogesh, a divisional committee member, who carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh, he said. With the latest action, 145 Naxalites have been gunned down in separate encounters in the state so far this year. Of them, 128 were eliminated in the Bastar division comprising seven districts, while 17 others were gunned down in Gariaband district which falls in Raipur division.