At least 29 Maoists were killed in an operation by security forces along the Kanker-Narayanpur border in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar on April 16. Three senior cadres of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) are suspected to be among the deceased. Three jawans also sustained injuries in the gun battle, but are out of danger, police said.
Based on the number of casualties inflicted, the State police have said this is possibly the “biggest encounter ever” in Chhattisgarh. Nationally, a 2018 operation in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli, in which 37 Maoists were killed, was the only one where more deaths were reported in recent years.
