30 Maoists, 1 jawan killed in twin encounters in Bijapur & Kanker

Raipur: At least 30 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters in Bijapur and Kanker districts of Bastar division on Thursday, Bastar range IG P Sundarraj told TOI. A security personnel also died in the gunfight.
In just 80 days, 113 Maoists have been killed by security forces in Chhattisgarh — 91 of them in Bijapur. Last year, 287 Maoists were neutralized in Bastar division.
Union home minister Amit Shah lauded the forces' bravery, saying: "Our soldiers have achieved another major success in the direction of ‘Naxal-Free India Campaign'.
Many Naxals were killed in two operations by our security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur and Kanker. The Modi government is moving forward with a ruthless approach against Naxals, and despite various facilities for surrender and inclusion, it is adopting a zero-tolerance policy against those Naxals who refuse to surrender. The country is set to be Naxal-free by 31st March next year." Chhattisgarh chief minister Vishnu Deo Sai said, "Bastar will be free from fear by 2026, this is certain. Our fight against Naxalism continues with great strength. It is also with great sorrow that we got the news of the martyrdom of a DRG jawan during the encounter. His sacrifice will not go in vain."
The bigger encounter was in Bijapur's Gangaloor, a hotbed of insurgency that has seen much bloodshed. This is the first major operation in Gangaloor after the surrender of Maoist commander Dinesh Modiyam, who called the shots here. He surrendered on March 3. Now, 26 of his former comrades have been cut down in a single gunfight.
The operations in Bijapur and Kanker were launched simultaneously nearly 300km apart. IG Sundarraj said that a joint team of Bijapur and Sukma District Reserve Guards (DRG), CoBRA commandos and CRPF personnel set out on operation in Gangaloor based on specific inputs about the presence of Maoists. The first exchange of fire took place around 7am and intermittent firing went on till after noon.
When the guns fell silent, the forces found 26 dead Maoists scattered across the battleground, said police.