The Interior Minister of the Union, Amit Shah, praised the security forcessaying: “Another attack on Naxalism! Safety agencies have neutralized 17 Naxalitas and recovered a massive stash of automatic weapons in the Sukma operation. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, we have decided to eradicate Naxalism before March 31, 2026 “.
Shah reiterated his call to the Maoists to surrender. “My appeal for those with weapons is that weapons and violence cannot bring changes. Only peace and development can.”
Bastar Range IGP Sundarraj said that a joint force of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of Battalion 159 of Sukma and CRPF was proposed to intercept a band of Maoist that was in motion. The forces had received contributions on their presence in the forests around the villages of Gogunda, Nendum, Upampalli and Kerlapal, about 500 km south of Raipur.
The forces left early on Saturday morning and surprised the Maoists in their den. The first shots were fired at 8 am there were strong shots from both sides and when the weapons shut up, security personnel found 17 naxales dead at the meeting site, police said. “They also found a large cache, including AK-47, SLR, insory rifles, rifles .303, rocket launchers, bgl pitchers and explosives,” said Sp Kiran Chavan.
