Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma appealed to the Naxals to join the mainstream and find solutions through talks with the government. His appeal came hours after 12 Naxalites were killed in an encounter in Bijapur on Friday.
As many as 16 Naxals, including four carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 18 lakh on their heads, surrendered in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur on Tuesday, officials said.
In a scathing attack against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Friday alleged that the Prime Minister wants to change the Constitution to snatch away the reservations and other rights of the backward communities, Adivasis and Dalits.
One Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Keshkutul area of Bhairamgarh in the Bijapur district on Sunday, Chhattisgarh Police said.
Ahead of Lok Sabha elections, polling teams have left for Naxal-hit regions in Bijapur, Chhattisgarh, through MI-17 Chopper. Anurag Pandey, Bijapur Collector and Jitendra Yadav, Bijapur SP, assured of a peaceful voting process and safe environment for the election officials and voters.
The fierce firefight that broke out on Tuesday ended on Wednesday, the security forces informed through an official release, adding that the toll on the Naxal side could mount further as many more are believed to be injured and are still not accounted for.
Three more bodies of Naxals were recovered in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday morning, a day after an encounter with security forces there.
Ten Naxals including a woman Naxalite were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur, Bastar IG, P Sundarraj said on Tuesday.
The tally of Naxalites killed in an encounter between security forces and Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur has gone up to 10, police officials said on Tuesday.