4 Naxals Killed in Gadchiroli Encounter; 29 Maoists Surrender in Chhattisgarh Under ‘Lon Varratu’ Drive

Mumbai: Maharashtra police confirmed that four Naxals, including one male and three female cadres, were killed on Wednesday after an eight-hour-long encounter along the Gadchiroli-Narayanpur border. Neelotpal, SP of Gadchiroli, stated, “After about 8 hours of intermittent firing in the Koparshi forest area on the Gadchiroli-Narayanpur border, the bodies of 4 Maoists (1 male and 3 female) have been recovered. Four weapons—1 SLR rifle, 2 INSAS rifles, and 1 .303 rifle—were also recovered. Further search operation is underway in the area.”

The encounter erupted on Wednesday morning near the Chhattisgarh border in eastern Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district when police acted on a tip-off about Naxal presence. A C-60 commando team of Gadchiroli Police launched a search operation in Koparshi village, triggering an extended firefight.

Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, a total of 29 Naxalites surrendered to security forces on the same day across Dantewada and Narayanpur districts, carrying cumulative bounties of Rs 55.50 lakh. Of these, 21 cadres laid down their arms in Dantewada and eight in Narayanpur. A senior official stated, “In Dantewada district, 21 Left-wing extremists, 13 of them carrying a collective reward of Rs 25.50 lakh on their heads, turned themselves in citing their disillusionment with the inhuman and hollow Maoist ideology.”

The surrendered cadres credited the police’s rehabilitation initiative ‘Lon Varratu’ (meaning ‘return to your home/village’ in Gondi) and the state government’s updated surrender and rehabilitation policy for their decision to give up arms. Keye alias Kesha Lekam, a member of Company No.1 of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), was among those who surrendered with a bounty of Rs 8 lakh.

Among the 21 surrendered Naxals in Dantewada, 12 were actively involved in different capacities within the Maoist organization. Six carried bounties of Rs 2 lakh each, five had bounties of Rs 1 lakh each, and one had a reward of Rs 50,000.

In Narayanpur, eight Naxalites, including two women and carrying a total bounty of Rs 30 lakh, also surrendered to security forces. With these latest developments, 1,042 Naxalites, 267 of whom had bounties, have quit the armed movement in Dantewada under the ‘Lon Varratu’ campaign since June 2020, police officials said.