Raipur, Jan 24 (IANS): In a major success for the ongoing anti-Maoist operations, a joint team of the Bijapur District Reserve Guard (DRG), District Police Force, CoBRA Battalion, and the CRPF apprehended 14 hardcore Maoists from the forests of Mallampet and Nadpalli, police officials said on Friday.
The operation targeted Maoist strongholds in Tekmetla, Nadpalli, and Mallampet regions.
Among the 14 arrested, 8 Maoists carried a cumulative bounty of Rs 36 lakh on their heads.
The arrested Maoists are suspected to have been involved in various violent incidents and acts of sabotage in the Usur area.
The security forces also recovered 23 wooden and 8 iron spikes, along with a wooden stake attached to a hoe used for digging, from a hideout in the forest.
The arrested Maoists are implicated in multiple incidents in the Usur police station area, including planting spikes in the Tekmetla forest and injuring two soldiers on November 30, 2022.
On June 9, 2024, they planted a pressure IED in the Nadpalli forest, which seriously injured a woman collecting Mahua.
On January 6 this year, these Maoists attempted to target a police patrol by planting an IED on the Usoor-Nadpalli road which was successfully neutralised by the CRPF’s Bomb Disposal (BD) team.
After being taken into custody at the Usur Police Station, the Maoists were presented before the Chief Court in Bijapur. Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Mayank Gurjar confirmed that all the accused have been remanded to judicial custody.
Just three days ago 16 Maoists were killed in a gunfight with the security forces in a joint operation launched by Odisha and Chhattisgarh police.
This incident came a day after two women Naxalities were gunned down by security forces in Chhattisgarh.
A top Naxal commander, Jayram alias Chalapathi, with a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head, was also killed during the operation on the Odisha-Chhattisgarh border.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah has said time and again that the government is committed to free the country of Maoism by March 31, 2026.