C-60 men eliminate 13 Naxals in pre-dawn strike in Gadchiroli

 

 

IN A fierce gun battle that took place between the police and the Naxalites in Paidi forest area falling under Kotmi Police Post in Etapalli taluka on Friday morning as many as 13 Naxals, including 7 women were killed.

This was informed to the media by Maharashtra Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil at the Police Head Quarters here on Friday afternoon. Expressing

satisfaction over the police action, Patil said in Nagpur that the cops have avenged the martyrdom of 15 bravehearts on the same day in 2009.

The police have recovered the dead bodies of all 13 Naxalites and also recovered large scale of arms and ammunition from the spot of the encounter, Patil said. Around 4 to 5 Naxals are suspected to have been injured in this firing, he added.

Sanjay Saxena, Additional Director General of Police (Operations), Sandeep Patil, DIG, Gadchiroli Range, Ankit Goel, SP, Gadchiroli, Manish Kalwaniya, Additional SP (Operations), Sameer sheikh, Addl. SP (Administration) and Somay Mundhe, Additional SP were especially present in this press conference.

On getting the information that Naxalites had assembled in the forest area of Paidi for tendu leaves extraction money, the jawans of C 60 Commando Force, the anti-Naxal squad of the District Police started anti-Naxal operations in the area at around 6 -00 in the morning.

The Naxalites who were hiding in the forest opened indiscriminate fire towards the police. The police jawans appealed the Naxals to lay down their arms and surrender. However the outlaws did not budge upon which the police retaliated the fire in self defense. The firing continued for at least one and half hour and finally Naxalites fled away from the spot due to growing pressure of the police.

When the area was searched, police found 13 dead bodies of the Naxalites including 7 women.

The police also found the arms like AK 47, SLR, carbine, 303 rifle, 12 boar rifle and explosives from the spot besides daily use material of the Naxalites. The further anti-Naxal operations have been intensified in the area.

Patil, who was on the tour of the district for the first time after he became the Home Minister of Maharashtra, appreciated the performance of the police saying it would give setback to the Naxal movement in the district and will boost up the morale of the police force.

The anti-Naxal operations of the Gadchiroli police are doing well but the Naxal activities in the adjoining Chhattisgarh State are not yet under control. I will therefore request the Maharashtra Chief Minister to write a letter to his Chhattisgarh counterpart in this regard to control the Naxal activities, Patil said.

The Home Minister contributed the police success to the various activities taken up under Civic Action Programmes by the police for the welfare and progress of the people in remote areas and congratulated them for this success.