29 Maoist insurgents were killed in a gun battle with the country’s security forces in India’s Chhattisgarh. The gun battle took place in Kankar district on Tuesday (April 16). This incident happened a few days before the Lok Sabha elections. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is contesting the elections to come to power for the third consecutive term. British news agency Reuters reported this news.
Polling for the second phase of the Lok Sabha elections in Kankar district will be held on April 26. Maoists have a strong presence in the neighboring Bastar district. In the first phase in Bastar, voting will be held next Friday. This Lok Sabha election will be held in seven phases.
Maoist armed rebels follow the socialist ideology of the late Chinese leader Mao Zedong. Armed guerrillas have been waging a decades-long struggle in India’s central and eastern regions. They often clashed with government forces. There were casualties on both sides.
Police officials said that the security forces launched the operation after receiving information about the presence of Maoists in Kankar district. Later it turned into a gunfight. Three members of the security forces were injured.
According to a police statement, the dead bodies of 29 Maoists were recovered during the search of the area after the gunfight. At the same time, several weapons and ammunition have been seized from there.
Maoists claim they are fighting to give India’s poor peasants and landless laborers more rights to their own land and workers exploited by mining companies greater rights to minerals.
Indian Home Minister Amit Shah participated in the election campaign in Chhattisgarh on Sunday. He vowed that the armed insurgency would be eradicated if the Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) returned to power.
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