Toll in Maoist encounter in Dantewada rises to 31; HM Shah dials Chhattisgarh CM

Raipur, Oct 5 (IANS) The toll in the encounter in Dantewada district touched 31 as the search operations continued on Saturday and the security forces found more bodies of the Naxalites they had engaged earlier.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai late on Friday night, hours after the security forces killed over 30 Maoists in Dantewada district.

The operation by the security forces and the call to the CM Sai by Amit Shah came just days ahead of the Union Home Minister's high-level meeting with Chief Ministers and Home Ministers of Maoist-affected states on October 7 in the national Capital.

During the telephonic conversation late on Friday, CM Sai apprised the Home Minister of the successful operation by the security forces and its details.

The encounter took place on Friday afternoon between 12.30 P.M. and 1 P.M.

The security forces have recovered a huge cache of arms and ammunition from the spot.

In a post on microblogging site X on Saturday, Chhattisgarh Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sharma said: "Our security forces have scripted history by killing 28 Naxals. Today, four to five more bodies can be recovered."

"Vishnu Deo government has come forward with a good surrender policy. Everyone should return to the mainstream... Bastar's water, forest and land belong to its people. The IEDs laid on the path of Bastar's development should be eliminated now," his post read.

"Home Minister Amit Shah Ji has also announced from the land of Chhattisgarh that Naxalism will be eradicated by 2026. Maoism is now counting its last breaths, he said.

Earlier on Friday, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister posted on X, "There are reports of 28 Naxalites being killed in an encounter between security forces and Naxalites in the border area of Narayanpur-Dantewada district."Saluting their "courage" and "indomitable bravery", he said that this great success achieved by the soldiers is "commendable".“Our fight to end Maoism will now rest only after reaching its conclusion, our double-engine government is determined for this. We aim to eliminate Naxalism from the state,” he added.

The Union Home Minister is scheduled to chair a high-level meeting of Chief Ministers and Home Ministers from Maoist-affected states on October 7 in the national Capital.

Earlier in September, Home Minister Shah while meeting victims of Moist violence from Chhattisgarh at his residence in Delhi, assured them that Maoism would be completely eradicated from the country by March 31, 2026.HM Shah urged those involved in Left Wing Extremism (LWE) to lay down arms and choose the path of peace.