Two women among three Naxals killed in Chhattisgarh

Three Naxals, including two women, were on Saturday gunned down by security forces at two different places in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar division, taking the total number of ultras killed in separate gun-battles in the region this month to 21.

The women ultras were killed in a skirmish which occurred in the dense forests of Polampall police station area of Sukma district while a joint team of security forces was carrying out an anti-naxal operation in the area, Inspector General of Police Bastar Range SRP Kalluri told PTI.

A composite squad of Special Task Force, District Reserve Group and local police, around 200 in number, had launched the operation in the restive forests of Polampalli, around 450 kms away from the state capital, on Saturday morning, he said.

On reaching Palamadugu village forests, security forces spotted a group of armed rebels following which an encounter broke out between both the sides, the IG said.

However, after around an hour of the ensuing gunfight, Naxals fled to the dense forests, he said. During searches at the spot, bodies of two women Maoists besides a country-made pistol, two muzzle loading guns, detonators, Maoist uniforms, live round of Insas and SLR rifles and articles of daily use were recovered, he added.

The killed ultras were identified as Vanjam Shanti and Vanjam Pojje and both were active as militia members of Palamadugu range committee of Maoists, he said.

In another incident, a Naxal trainer identified as Ramsu was killed in the forests of Awapalli police station area of the neighbouring Bijapur district, the IG said.

A joint team of DRG and district force led by Additional Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela was mobilised towards the interiors of Awapalli based on an information about the movement of ultras in the region, he said.

While they were cordoning off a forested patch near Punnur village, some armed cadres opened indiscriminate firing on them prompting security forces to retaliate, he said.

After the intermittent firing stopped, security personnel recovered the body of an ultra along with a weapon, he said.

Ramsu was deployed as a trainer of new recruits in the Awapalli Local Organisation Squad of Maoists, he added.