SAA event in Purange in Dantewada District, Chhattisgarh area, India on Sun 19th March 2023

Two suspected Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, including a woman, were killed in an encounter with Security Forces (SFs) in a forest near Purangel village of Gampur area under Kirandul Police Station limits in Dantewada District in Chhattisgarh on March 19, reports Hindustan Times. Dantewada superintendent of police (SP) Gaurav Rai, in a statement, said, “We had specific input about the presence of Maoists; hence, a joint team of personnel from different security forces was out on an anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation. Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard, Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police, and the Central Reserve Police Force’s 111th, 230th, and 231st battalions were involved in the operation. When the team reached the Gampur jungles, the Maoists started firing. After the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of one male and one female Maoist were recovered from the spot. Combing operations in the area are going on. We have brought the bodies to Dantewada, and the killed Maoists are yet to be identified.” Police also said that they have recovered a weapon, some explosives, and other belongings of Maoists from the spot.