Indian police kill at least 26 armed Maoist rebels

MUMBAI • At least 26 armed rebels belonging to the Maoist Naxal militant group waging an insurgency in India were killed by the police in Korchi forest of Gadchiroli district, 1,012km from Mumbai, a top police official has said.

"We have recovered the bodies of 26 Naxals so far from the forest," said Gadchiroli district Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal after the day-long gun battle, which started in the early hours of last Saturday and continued till evening.

Four police personnel were also seriously injured and were airlifted to Nagpur by a helicopter for treatment.

Gadchiroli district in India's western state of Maharashtra lies on the border of the central state of Chhattisgarh.

"There was a camp of Naxals in the Gyarapatti-Kodagul forest of Korchi, on the basis of which the police conducted the search operations since Saturday morning," Supt Goyal said.

The Naxalite rebels, who have a presence in at least eight Indian states, claim that they fight for the rights of the poor and landless in the country and have frequently targeted Indian security forces.

In 2019, these eight Indian states reported 670 cases of Naxal violence resulting in the deaths of 150 civilians and 52 security personnel, while 145 armed rebels (Naxalites) were killed and 1,276 were arrested, media reports said, quoting government data.

Last year, 140 civilians and 43 security personnel were killed in 665 cases of Naxal violence.

XINHUA