Two female Naxalites died in an encounter with security personnel on Saturday in the Madhya Pradesh district of Balaghat. They collectively had a bounty of Rs 28 lakh on their heads.
MP Police neutralise two female Naxalites in Balaghat district
— The New Indian (@TheNewIndian_in) April 22, 2023
They have been identified as Sunita and Sarita, with a bounty of ₹14 lakh each on their heads, reports @RudraRaviSharma #news pic.twitter.com/0T3fse7xa7
The encounter took place in Kadla forest area under Garhi police station in the wee hours on Saturday, at around 3 am. The two Naxals were killed after a prolonged gunfight with the Hawk Force.
The deceased Naxalites were identified as Sarita Khatia Mocha, an Area Committee Member (ACM) who was active in Vistar Dalam, and Sunita, another ACM who served as the commander of the Maoists’ Bhoramdev Committee. Both carried a reward of Rs 14 lakh each.
According to officials, apart from the two deaths, it is suspected that some other Naxalites were injured in the encounter. The Hawk Force personnel have started a massive search operation in the forest. IGP Balaghat Sanjay Kumar, Superintendent of Police Balaghat Sameer Saurabh and top officers of Hawk Force are present at the spot.
Superintendent of Police (SP) Sameer Saurabh reported that the altercation took place in the early hours in the Kadla forest region within the boundaries of the Garhi police station.
He revealed that a search operation was underway in the region and items including guns, cartridges, other ammunition, and Naxal literature were recovered from them.
Five Naxals were killed by Jharkhand police earlier this month after a shootout with security personnel in the Chatra area. While two of them carried rewards of Rs. 25 lakh each, the remaining three had a bounty of Rs. 5 lakh each.
The confrontation happened near the Chatra-Palamu boundary in the vicinity of the Lawalong police station, around 160 kilometres from Ranchi, the state capital. Furthermore, a significant quantity of weapons and ammunition were confiscated from there.
