4 Naxals gunned down in encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh, cop dies

Security forces killed at least four Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Abujhmad on Saturday evening. One police officer was also killed in the operation.

Police teams and District Reserve Guards (DRGs) from Narayanpur, Dantewada, Jagdalpur and Kondagaon districts along with the Special Task Force (STF) were involved in the anti-Naxal operation. The DRG head constable killed in the gunfight was identified as Sannu Karam, a police official told India Today TV. Automatic weapons like AK-47 and self loading rifles (SLR) were recovered during the joint operation.

The gunfight broke out in the densely forested Naxal stronghold Abujhmaad, bordering Narayanpur and Dantewada districts, as the security personnel were out on an anti-Naxalite operation. There have been reports of intermittent encounters between security forces and Naxals since yesterday evening.

Nearly 100 Naxalites — which account for more than 50 per cent of Naxals killed in 2024 — were eliminated from Abujmaad last year, according to police officials. On October, 2024, as many as 31 Naxalites were killed in Abujhmaad, believed to be one of the largest counter-operation against Naxals in the state.

Owing to the difficult terrain and unsurveyed land, bigger than Goa’s size, Abujhmad has been a safe haven for the Naxals since the eighties. Last year, the security forces claimed that they have struck at the heart of Naxal operations, covering more than 50 per cent of Abujhmad.