Sukma, Dec 18: Three Naxalites, including a woman cadre, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Thursday, police said.
The exchange of fire took place in the forested hills under the Golapalli police station area when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was conducting a search operation based on specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Maoist cadres in the region.
According to Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan, the encounter began in the morning after security personnel spotted the Naxalites, triggering intermittent firing from both sides. After the firing subsided, the bodies of three Naxalites were recovered from the spot along with firearms.
Police sources said the operation is still underway in the surrounding forest areas to rule out the presence of more Maoist elements, and further details are awaited.
With this latest action, a total of 284 Naxalites have been killed in encounters across Chhattisgarh so far this year. Of these, 255 were neutralised in the Bastar division, which includes Sukma, Bijapur and Dantewada districts. Another 27 were killed in Gariaband district under the Raipur division, while two Naxalites were gunned down in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district of the Durg division.
Security forces have intensified anti-Naxal operations in the region as part of ongoing efforts to curb left-wing extremism in the state.
