In a major crackdown, security forces have killed 450 Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar division over the past 20 months, Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P said. The latest encounter in Bijapur’s Indravati National Park claimed the lives of senior Maoist leaders, including Urmila and Buchanna.
About 140 Maoists, including Central Committee member Takalapalli Vasudeva Rao alias Ashanna, alias Rupesh and DKZC Maad division in-charge Ranitha, are set to surrender before Chhattisgarh CM Vishnu Deo Sai in Jagdalpur. Their surrender is expected to weaken Maoist operations in Bastar.
The Chhattisgarh government's statement came a day ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Jagdalpur, the headquarters of Bastar district, one of the seven districts in the Naxal-affected Bastar division.
Assembly elections in Chhattisgarh's naxal-hit Sukma, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Bastar and Dantewada are going to be very special as the Election Commission will be establishing polling centres at villages where the centre has never opened.
