Five Naxals Dead After Gunfight with Gadchiroli Police
Vidarbha, Gadchiroli, India: The Gadchiroli police achieved significant success by eliminating five Naxalites, including three women, in their stronghold in Abujhmad, Chhattisgarh, as stated by Superintendent of Police Nilotpal during a press conference on October 22. The operation involved 21 squads from the Anti-Naxal unit and two teams from the CRPF.
The encounter began when the police were fired upon by the Naxals in the Koparshi forest area of Bhamragad taluka. Despite repeated appeals for them to surrender, the Naxals refused to lay down their arms, leading to a fierce gun battle between the police and the Naxals that lasted for eight hours. Eventually, the outlaws retreated into the forest.
After the gunfire ended, a search of the area revealed the bodies of the five Naxals. Police constable Kumod Atram was injured during the encounter and is currently hospitalized in Nagpur, where he is reported to be stable and out of danger. Additionally, a large stockpile of arms, ammunition, and other materials was seized from the scene, including firearms, explosives, cartridges, bags, mobile phones, books, and various everyday items.
According to the Superintendent of Police, the group that attacked the police force is estimated to consist of around 20 to 25 Naxals. The five Naxals killed in the encounter have been identified as follows: Jaya alias Bhuri Pada (31), a resident of Uliya in Pakhanjur taluka of Chhattisgarh, who worked as a DVCM in Company Number 10; Saoji alias Ankalu Tulavi (65), a DVCM from the Supply Team; Dewe alias Reeta (25), also from the Bastar area; Basant, a resident of Bastar who was part of the Supply Team; and Sukhmati, another resident of Bastar who worked in Company Number 10.
A total reward of ₹38 lakh was announced for information leading to the capture of the identified Naxals, with ₹16 lakh offered for Jaya and Saoji, and ₹2 lakh each for Dewe, Basant, and Sukhmati. Superintendent Nilotpal stated that Jaya was implicated in 49 crimes, including 31 encounters and 4 murders, while Saoji faced charges in 226 offenses, with 84 encounters and 54 murders.
This successful operation was conducted under the leadership of several key officials, including ADG (Ops) Sunil Ramanand, Special IG ANO Sandip Patil, DIG Gadchiroli Range Ankit Goyal, DIG (Ops.) CRPF Ajay Kumar Sharma, and SP Gadchiroli Nilotpal.
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