Chhattisgarh encounter death toll rises to 13 as three more bodies of Naxalites are recovered

13 Naxalites killed in fierce encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, ahead of Lok Sabha polls.

Three more bodies of Naxalites were recovered on April 3 morning in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district where a fierce encounter took place between security personnel and Naxalites the previous day, police said.

With this, the number of Naxalites killed in the gun battle on April 2 has risen to 13, they said.

Following the major anti-insurgency operation ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, the police on April 2 found bodies of 10 Naxalites, including a woman.

During the search operation still underway in the area, the bodies of three more Naxalites were recovered on April 3 morning from a dense forest where the encounter took place, a senior police official said.

“The identity of the dead Naxalites was yet to be ascertained but prima facie, it appears that they belonged to the PLGA [People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army] company no. 2 of Maoists,” the official said.

On April 2, the gunfight broke out between security forces and Naxalites at around 6 a.m. in the forest between Lendra and Korcholi villages under the Gangaloor police station area, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation.

The intermittent firing lasted for a long time and the security forces continued search operations in the area.