TNI Bureau: Fourteen Naxals were killed in two separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Bijapur districts on Saturday, police officials said.

In Sukma district, at least 12 Naxals were neutralised during an encounter in the forest area under the Kistaram police station limits. Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said the operation was launched by the District Reserve Guard (DRG) following specific intelligence inputs about the presence of Naxals in the area. When the security forces moved in, the Naxals opened fire, leading to a fierce exchange. Automatic weapons were also recovered from the spot, he added.

In a separate operation, two Naxals were killed in the southern region of Bijapur district. The DRG had launched a search operation there after receiving intelligence about the movement of armed Naxals.

Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) P Sundarraj said contact with the Maoists was established around 5 am and intermittent firing continued for several hours. He confirmed that the bodies of two Maoists were recovered from the encounter site in Bijapur during the ongoing search operation.

Officials said combing operations were continuing in both areas and further details were awaited.