22 Naxals gunned down in 2 separate encounters in Chhattisgarh
What's the story
Twenty-two Maoists were gunned down by security forces in two separate encounters in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur and Kanker districts on Wednesday.
In Bijapur, one cop and 18 Naxals were killed, while four Maoists were shot dead in Kanker district in an exchange of fire near Koroskodo village.
The initial encounter was reported in the dense forest area on the Bijapur-Dantewada border in Gangaloor.
It began at about 7:00am and lasted for hours with heavy exchange of fire.
Details
Bijapur encounter: Naxalites heavily armed
Police have confirmed that 18 Naxalite bodies have been recovered from the site along with a huge cache of arms, ammunition, and explosives.
The anti-Naxal operation was launched by a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Search teams are continuing the operation in the region to find any remaining Naxal presence and recover more weapons.
Operation
31 Maoists killed last month
Last month, security forces also managed to eliminate 31 Maoists in Bijapur district.
A security team was conducting an anti-Maoist operation when the encounter occurred in the Indravati National Park area, deep within the forest.
During the gunfight, two security personnel were also slain.
Before that, in January, a senior Maoist leader named Jayaram Reddy, also known as Chalapati, was killed in an anti-Maoist operation. Reddy had a head bounty of ₹1 crore.