Indian security forces have gunned down as many as 51 left-wing Naxalite rebels in encounters in five months in the central state of Chhattisgarh, a senior police official has said.
“These Naxalites died in gunfight with security forces between November 2017 and March 2018 in the state’s Sukma and Bijapur districts,” local police chief Abhishek Meena told the media late Thursday evening, reports agency.
Chhattisgarh is among the seven Indian states hit by Naxalite violence.
Though major offensives by security forces in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds and the levels of violence have fallen, hit-and-run attacks are still common, killing hundreds of people, mostly security personnel, every year.