This year, two security personnel were killed in the deadliest fighting and a second major battle in Central India in less than a month.
Indian security forces have killed at least 31 suspected Maoist rebels in the forests of the central state of Chhattisgarh, police said.
Two security personnel were also killed in a gun clash in the Andhravati area of ​​Chhattisgarh on Sunday.
Hundreds of police and paramilitary troops launched an operation in the forests on the basis of intelligence that a large number of Maoist rebels had gathered there, State Police Inspector General Petalingam Sunderj said.
He said the tool could be greater with the extension of search operations. “Additional forces have been taken to the encounter site,” he said.
A police statement said that automatic weapons and hand grenade launchers were recovered from the scene.
The rebel, also known as Naxalz, follows a form of communism spread by late Chinese leader Mao Zaidong. They have continued a guerrilla war against the government for decades, especially in Central and East India, which has led to clashes and casualties from both sides from time to time.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah Shah said, “This is a great success in the pursuit of Naxal -free India,” which said last year that the government had expected to crush the Maoist uprising by 2026.
According to police officer Jitendra Yadav, Sunday’s fighting is the largest and the second major confrontation in less than a month in Chhattisgarh so far.
On January 23, at least 16 rebels were killed in the Gariband district of the state. According to Indian officials, the government had issued a reward of 12 of them, with a total of $ 345,000.
On January 31, eight rebels were also killed in a gun fight with soldiers in Bijapur district.
New Delhi has deployed tens of thousands of soldiers in a part of the area known as the “Red Corridor”. According to official data, about 287 rebels were killed in the crackdown last year, most of them are in Chhattisgarh.
Indian troops have been fighting Maoists since 1967, when rebels began to fight for more jobs, land and wealth from natural resources for the country’s poor indigenous communities.
The neglect of the years has isolated many locals, who face a shortage of jobs, schools and clinics, which they open to the rebels for the overthrow. The rebels speak the same tribal languages ​​as many villagers have promised to fight for a better future, especially in Chhattisgarh, which is one of the poorest states in India despite its extensive mineral wealth.
The fighters attacked the police, destroyed government offices, and kidnapped officials. They have also blown up the train tracks, attacked prisons to free their comrades, and have stolen weapons to armed themselves from police and paramilitary homes.
