Sukma, March 29 A Naxalite, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh, was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Sukma district, Chhattisgarh, on Sunday, two days before the Centre set a deadline of March 31 to eliminate Left Wing Extremism from the country, police said.
The gunfight took place on a forested hill under the jurisdiction of the Polampalli police station, where a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a unit of the state police, was conducting an anti-Naxal operation based on information about the presence of Maoists in the area, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said.
After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a Naxalite, along with a weapon, was recovered from the scene, he said.
The deceased, Muchaki Kailash, was the section commander of platoon no. 31 of the Maoists and was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh, the official said.
He said that Kailash was involved in incidents of civilian killings, planting improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and attacks on police.
This encounter comes just two days before the Centre set a deadline of March 31 to eliminate armed Naxalism from the country.
Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj Pattilingam said that the opportunity for surrender and rehabilitation available to Maoist cadres is now at its final stage, and they have very limited time to take advantage of it.
He appealed to Maoist cadres to seize this opportunity, renounce violence, and return to mainstream society to live a peaceful, secure, and dignified life.
With this incident, 27 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year. On January 3, 14 Maoists were killed in two encounters in the Bastar region, which includes seven districts.
Last year, security forces killed a total of 285 Maoists in encounters across the state.