Security forces kill 29 Maoist rebels in India

Gunfights between Maoist rebels and Indian security forces are common

Security forces say they have killed 29 Maoist rebels in the central Indian state of Chhattisgarh, days before the country goes to polls.

The incident took place in Kanker area close to Bastar, which is a stronghold of the rebels.

The state police say this is the highest number of Maoist casualties in a clash in recent years.

Chhattisgarh has seen a long-running insurgency by Maoists who say they are fighting for the rights of the poor.

People in Bastar are set to vote on Friday on the first day of the general election, while Kanker goes to polls on 26 April.

Security forces said Tuesday’s clash happened after they received a tip-off about the presence of leaders from the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) in Kankar.

A gunfight broke out during the search operation by forces and after that, 29 bodies of Maoist rebels and a large cache of arms were recovered, P Sundarraj, Inspector General of Police of Bastar, told reporters on Wednesday.

India’s Border Security Force (BSF) said that two senior members of the CPI (Maoist) are believed to be among those killed.

Federal Home Minister Amit Shah has congratulated security personnel on the success of the operation.

Mr Shah was in Chhattisgarh earlier this week for an election campaign. On Wednesday, he said his government was “determined to free the country from the scourge” of Maoist rebels.

The Maoist insurgency began in West Bengal state in the late 1960s and has since spread to more than a third of India’s 600 districts.

The rebels control large areas of several states in a “red corridor” stretching from north-east to central India.

Major military and police offensives in recent years have pushed the rebels back to their forest strongholds and levels of violence have fallen.

But clashes between security forces and rebels are still common, killing scores of people every year.

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