Vikrant Shekhawat : May 21, 2021, 01:12 PM
An encounter between police and Naxalites continues in Gadchiroli, Maharashtra. The C-60 unit of the police has so far killed 13 Naxalites in the forest area of Etapalli in Gadchiroli. News agency ANI has quoted this information by Gadchiroli DIG Sandeep Patil.On Friday, bodies of at least 13 Naxalites were recovered from the forest area of Etapalli in Gadchiroli district, where the encounter between the C-60 unit of Maharashtra Police and the Naxalites is going on. According to Gadchiroli Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Sandeep Patil, the operation was a major breakthrough for the Maharashtra Police and there is a possibility that more Naxalites may be eliminated in the encounter.Gadchiroli Deputy Inspector General of Police Sandeep Patil said that the encounter took place in the forest near Kotmi in Etapalli at around 5.30 am. He told that then the Naxalites had gathered there for a meeting. Patil said that on the basis of specific information, police teams and C-60 commandos started a search operation in the jungle. He said that the Naxalites saw the police team and started firing. The C-60 commandos retaliated in which 13 Naxalites were killed.Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal said the encounter lasted for about an hour. The remaining Naxalites escaped into the dense forest. He said that bodies of Naxalites have been recovered from the scene. The search operation is still in progress.Naxalites did IED blast two years agoAt least 16 people, including 15 police personnel, were killed in an IED blast carried out by Naxalites in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district in 2019. A huge ravine had formed on the road due to that explosion. Before the explosion, Naxalites set fire to 27 vehicles of a road construction company. The driver was also among those killed in the blast. The blast took place near the Lendhari Nallah in the Karkhera area of the policemen's vehicle.