Two Naxalites gunned down in encounter with cops in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur
Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said.
The exchange of fire broke out in a forest along the Indravati river in the morning when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior police official said.
After guns fell silent, bodies of two Naxalites, clad in uniform, along with a Self-Loading Rifle, an Insas rifle and a 12-bore rifle were recovered from the spot, he said.
Search operation was still underway, he added.
With this action, at least 25 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in the state so far this year.
Earlier, 14 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters on January 3 in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur.
Last year, 285 Maoists were killed in various encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh.
The Centre has set a deadline of March 31 this year to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism from the country.
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BJP will win West Bengal polls, drive out every single infiltrator: Amit Shah
Araria (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Thursday exuded confidence that the BJP will win the upcoming assembly polls in West Bengal, and “drive out every single infiltrator” from the state after coming to power.
Shah made the remark while addressing a function of the Sashastra Seema Bal in Araria district of Bihar, which falls in the Seemanchal region bordering West Bengal.
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“Elections are around the corner in West Bengal. I am confident that the BJP is going to win. Upon formation of the new government, we shall drive out every single infiltrator,” he asserted.
“The process of flushing out infiltrators will begin in Bihar, especially in the Seemanchal region. We had won the assembly polls here last year on this very issue. And, we got the mandate even though opponents were criticising our agenda,” the home minister said.
Shah said infiltration is a threat to national security, and infiltrators also threaten the demographic balance of an area, feed on ration, and avail other benefits meant for common people.
“Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Assam are the most vulnerable to such demographic disturbance. The Narendra Modi government is committed to maintain demographic balance,” Shah said.
He began his speech by paying rich tributes to legendary freedom fighter and Hindutva icon Vinayak Damodar Savarkar on his death anniversary.
“The Revolt of 1857 came to be seen as India’s First War of Independence only after Savarkar... wrote a book asserting the same,” Shah added.
