Raipur: A hardcore Maoist was on Tuesday gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district under south Bastar in Chhattisgarh, police said.
The slain Maoist has been identified as Lokesh, a member of the Kistaram area committee of Naxals, police said.
The encounter took place in the hilly terrain of Pamloor under Kistaram police station.
Acting on specific intelligence inputs on presence of armed guerrillas belonging to Kistaram and Konta area committees of Maoists in the forest in Pamloor, a joint search operation was launched by security forces drawn from district reserve group (DRG), Bastar Fighters, and CRPF in the area.
An encounter took place between security forces and Maoists when the former were trying to cordon off the latter’s area in the forest, police said. Later, the body of a Naxal was recovered at the encounter site, police said.
Around two dozen senior Maoist leaders including four members of Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee (DKSZC), the most influential formation of the Maoists, were among 198 Naxals who were killed in separate encounters in Bastar in the last nine months.
The four DKSZC members slain in different encounters in Bastar were Niti, Jaganna, Ranvir, and Rupesh.
Each of them carried a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on their heads.
Maoists have divided their strongholds in the country into 12 divisions and the secretary of each division has been made a member of the DKSZC.
Besides, members of the military commission and some other vital units of Maoists are also made the members of the DKSZC.
Maoists usually officially identify the secretary of DKSZC, when appointed in the post .
However, Maoists have stopped making the name of DKSZC secretary official after the death of Ramanna alias Ravulla Srinivas, considered the most ruthless DKSZC secretary, in 2019.
Words making rounds in the red corridor suggested that Nagesh currently held the position.
