Major victory against Naxals, 2 top leaders killed: Amit Shah

New Delhi, Sep 22 (PTI) Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said security forces have achieved a major victory against the Naxalites with the killing of their two top leaders along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border.

The security forces eliminated two central committee members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist)- Katta Ramachandra Reddy and Kadri Satyanarayan Reddy - in the Abujhmad region of Narayanpur, according to Shah.

"Our security forces are systematically dismantling the top leadership of the Naxals, breaking the backbone of red terror," he wrote on 'X'.

According to a Chhattisgarh police officer, the gunbattle broke out in the morning at a forest in Abhujmaad, adjoining Maharashtra, when a team of security forces was out on a search operation.

The operation was launched based on inputs about the presence of Naxalites in the area, he said.

"So far, the bodies of two male Naxalites have been recovered from the spot," he said.

An AK-47 rifle, along with other weapons, a large quantity of explosive material, Maoist literature, propaganda materials and daily use items were also recovered from the encounter site, the official said.

With the latest action, 249 Naxalites have been killed in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year.

On September 11, ten Naxalites, including a central committee member of CPI (Maoist), Modem Balakrishna, were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, according to the police. PTI ACB RT RT