RAIPUR: Three Maoists were gunned down in an encounter in Kanter district of Chhattisgarh on Sunday . Police believe more Maoist bodies may turn up as the search continues.
Security forces have intensified operations since BJP govt took over in Dec last year. Skirmishes have become more frequent as Maoists, too, have stepped up aggression. At least 14 Maoists have been eliminated in encounters since Dec 12, half of them this month. Seven security personnel were killed and 22 injured in ambushes or operations during this period. The civilian toll includes four dead, including a newborn, and a mother and child injured.
Sunday's encounter took place in Hurtarai forests of Koyalibeda region, around 220km south of Raipur. Police sources said security forces had gone after Maoist commander Raju Salam, head of 'military company No.5', who operates in Koyalibeda.
Kanker SP Indira Kalyan Elesela said a joint team of 175 personnel from District Reserve Guard and Border Security Force went on the operation. The two sides met in a hail of gunfire early Sunday morning.
The Maoists broke off and fled after a long gunfight. While combing the battleground, the forces found three dead Maoists and three guns, the SP said, adding that the "number of Maoists deaths may increase".
"Unless the body of Raju Salam is recovered, we consider him alive," the SP said. The three dead Maoists are from Salam's unit.
On Saturday, a Maoist was killed in an encounter in the remote Burklanka area of Sukma. Two days prior to that, Maoists had murdered two villagers in Sukma, accusing them of being informers.
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