2024 Kanker clash | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Part of the Naxalite-Maoist insurgency | |||||||
The location of Kanker district. | |||||||
| |||||||
Belligerents | |||||||
Communist Party of India (Maoist) | India | ||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||
Shankar Rao † Vinod Gawde † Lalitha † [1] | Unknown | ||||||
Units involved | |||||||
Unknown | Border Security Force District Reserve Guard | ||||||
Strength | |||||||
29+ | Unknown | ||||||
Casualties and losses | |||||||
29 killed [2] | 3 injured [3] |
The 2024 Kanker clash was an encounter between cadres of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) and Indian security forces in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. It was one of deadliest encounters for the rebels in the insurgency. [4]
Anti-maoists operations were ongoing in the area regarding 2024 Indian general election, as Maoists have boycotted the elections and threatened to attack polling stations. [5]
The units of Border Security Forces and District Reserve Guards were patrolling forest near Binagunda village of Kanker district, when they came under heavy fire from the Maoists. After a heavy exchange of gunfire, security Forces recovered bodies of 29 Maoists along with, twenty-two weapons, including one AK-47 rifle, two INSAS rifles, one Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), one carbine, three .303 rifles, two .315 bore rifles, two 9MM pistols, two country-made launchers, eight muzzle loading guns, one country-made hand grenade and a huge cache of ammunitions were recovered from the encounter site. Security forces suffered with 3 injured personnel which are non-life-threatening. [6]
The encounter is considered one of the most successful anti-naxal operations in years. As of April 2024, the operations by security forces has resulted in killing of about 68 Maoists. The encounter can also be considered a major political victory for the government as elections was just 3 days ahead of the operation. [7]
The Communist Party of India (Maoist) is a banned Marxist–Leninist–Maoist communist political party and militant organization in India which aims to overthrow the "semi-colonial and semi-feudal Indian state" through protracted people's war. It was founded on 21 September 2004, through the merger of the Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) People's War (People's War Group) and the Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI). The party has been designated as a terrorist organisation in India under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act since 2009.
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