Overlooking the villages of Hidur and Kalpar in the Kanker district of Chhattisgarh, where 29 Maoists were shot dead by security forces during an encounter, the hillocks are silent.
Bullet marks were visible on the trees at the scene on Wednesday, hours after the largest battle in state history came to an its conclusion. The ground, which is covered in a thick layer of fallen bamboo leaves, also has bloodstains on it.
Local tribals, mostly women, were visible outdoors in the surrounding villages, but they refused to talk about what they heard or saw during the encounter on Tuesday. According to Lingaram, a local resident of Akameta village, the encounter resulted in the death of his active Maoist cousin Sukku.
According to reporters at Kalpar village, he revealed that he only learned about it on Wednesday. Sukku had joined the outlawed CPI (Maoist) when he was a little boy, and according to Lingaram, he remained with the Maoist cause in spite of family members’ attempts to get him to leave. He said that the family had not yet been in touch with the police to claim Sukku’s body.
The Kotri River, which runs dry in the summer, must be crossed in order to get to the region, which is thought to be a stronghold of the Naxalites’ North Bastar Division Committee.
An official stated that the villagers’ opposition to the construction of a bridge on the river has prevented the local administration from moving forward with its long-standing plans to build a bridge over the river. The encounter site is situated at the intersection of the Kanker and Narayanpur districts of Chhattisgarh and the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra, more than 15 kilometers from Bechaghat.
Villager Aaytu reported hearing gunfire on Tuesday afternoon coming from a hill next to Kalpar village. But he was unwilling to say anything more. There were spots where climbing the hill, which is covered in dense bamboo leaves, revealed bullet scars and bloodstains on the trees. In a dry rivulet were empty needles, soft drink bottles, and an improvised stretcher that the security staff used to transport their injured colleagues.
About 200 members of the police’s Border Security Force (BSF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) began the counter-insurgency operation on April 15 in the late evening and assembled in Mehra village, according to officials.
After crossing the Kotri River at Khairipadar, they went through a few more villages and surrounded the hill, which was thought to be home to several senior Maoists.
According to authorities, the shootout started at 1:30 pm on Tuesday and lasted for about four hours.
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