Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh): Five Naxalites were killed in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district on Tuesday in an encounter that broke out between security personnel and Naxalites.
The joint inter-district anti-naxal operation that commenced on June 30 was going on in the Kohkamet police station areas of the district.
According to preliminary information, several Naxalites were injured in the encounter.
The District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Border Security Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police forces were involved in the inter-district joint operation.
The search operation is going on and no security personnel has been injured in the incident.
Earlier last month, a Naxalite was killed in an encounter that broke out between Naxalites and security personnel in the Amjhar village and Muhkot forests of the Dhamtari district in Chhattisgarh.
Security personnel have also recovered weapons involved in the attack.
The security forces have been preparing to conduct anti-naxal operations in the dense forests of Dantewada district during the monsoon.
"In the past years, security forces have carried out anti-Naxal operations during monsoon and it has yielded positive results. In view of that experience, operations will be carried out continuously through special forces and central paramilitary forces during the monsoon period of the year 2024," said IG Bastar P Sundarraj.
The IG highlighted that the morale of security forces is very high regarding the operation.
"Forces have gained a deciding edge in the fight against the naxals and the same will be continued further so that naxal activities will be eliminated, development works will be carried out and peace will be restored," stated Sundarraj.
"The way security forces have carried out an action against naxals and established camps by penetrating interior areas, insurgents have lost their ground," said the IG."The extensive operations have blocked their corridors and made a major dent in their funding chain, pushing the Naxal organisation on the backfoot," claimed the IG, adding that they are now unable to operate several activities.
The IG further mentioned that forces are planning to launch a major crackdown against economic sources of naxals in the coming days.
Earlier on Wednesday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) extensively searched a dozen locations in Chhattisgarh's Naxal-infested region as part of its investigation into the gruesome murder of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Ratan Dubey.
Cracking down on premises linked with various suspects and Over Ground Workers (OWGs) and supporters of the Bayanar Area Committee under the East Bastar Division of naxal, the NIA conducted elaborate searches at locations in Toynar, Koushalnar, Badenhod, Dhaudai and Kongera villages.
The NIA said it has seized several mobile phones, a Tablet and cash amounting to Rs 9,90,050, along with naxal pamphlets and literature, during the searches in the case linked to the murder of Dubey.