Maoist carrying Rs 5L bounty killed in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar

RAIPUR: A Maoist carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh was killed in an encounter with security forces along the Dantewada–Bijapur border in south Chhattisgarh on Thursday. The gunfight broke out in a forested hill tract under Geedam area of Dantewada, during an anti-Naxal operation launched on the basis of intelligence inputs about Maoist movement and hidden arms. The slain Maoist was identified as Rajesh Punem, an Area Committee Member (ACM) of the Bhairamgarh area committee, considered an active cadre in the insurgency network operating across the Dantewada–Bijapur belt.According to police, inputs received on March 3 suggested that Maoists had dumped weapons and other materials in the forested zone between Gumlanar, Girsapara and Nelgoda villages. Acting on the information, a joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters was dispatched for a search operation under the leadership of DSP Rahul Kumar Uike.Security personnel began combing the forested hill area and laying a cordon around suspected locations when a group of 8–10 armed Maoists belonging to the Bhairamgarh area committee allegedly opened fire on the police party from an ambush position.The forces retaliated, leading to a brief exchange of fire. Taking advantage of darkness and the dense forest cover, the Maoists fled the spot, police said.During a search of the encounter site, security personnel recovered the body of a male Maoist, later identified as Punem.Police said an SLR rifle, an INSAS rifle, a pistol, a walkie-talkie set, magazines and a large quantity of live and empty cartridges, along with Maoist-related materials, were seized from near the body.Search operations were continuing in the surrounding forest area to trace other Maoist cadres who escaped after the gunfight, officials added.