Dantewada, March 5 A Naxalite, who carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh, police said on Thursday.
The gunfight took place on Wednesday night in forested hills under the Geedam police station area when a joint team of the District Reserve Guard and Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police, were on an anti-Naxal operation. Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai said that the operation was in the Geedam area, bordering Bijapur district.
Police received information on March 3 that Naxalites were reportedly concealing weapons and other materials in the forested hills between the villages of Gumalnar, Girsapara, and Nelgoda, which fall under the Geedam area. Based on this information, the operation was launched, he said.
When the patrolling team was trying to cordon off the forest hills, 8-10 Naxalites belonging to the Bhairamgarh Area Committee of the Maoist organisation started firing indiscriminately from their automatic weapons, triggering an exchange, he said.
Taking advantage of the dense forest, hilly terrain, and darkness, most of the Naxalites managed to escape. During a search of the encounter site, the body of one Naxalite, along with weapons and ammunition, was recovered, the official said.
The neutralized Naxalite was identified as Rajesh Punem, a resident of Burji village under the Gangaloor police station limits in Bijapur district. Punem carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh.
The recovered materials include a self-loading rifle, an INSAS rifle, a pistol with a magazine, a walkie-talkie set, several magazines and live cartridges of SLR, INSAS, and pistol, along with empty shells, he said.
A search operation in the area is underway, police said.
So far this year, at least 26 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh.
On January 3, according to officials, 14 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Dantewada.
Last year, 285 rebels were killed in encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh.
The Centre has set a deadline of March 31 this year to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism from the country.
