BIJAPUR, India: The Districts Reserve Guard and the Indian Central Reserve Police Force have killed four people during a search operation in Bijapur district near Chhote Tungali forest, local media reported on Wednesday.
As per the Kashmir Media Service, the Indian police have identified the people killed as guerrillas associated with the Communist Party of India (Maoist). Kamalochan Kashyap, Deputy Inspector General of Police (South Bastar), confirmed that four bodies have been found in the jungle, with search operations ongoing.
Three people were killed in a similar incident on Sunday in a forest area in Koyalibeda, Kanker district. Police asserted that those killed were Maoist guerrillas who died in a firefight. However, relatives of the deceased contested this, alleging that their loved ones were killed while in police custody.
The Maoist and Marxist movements, active in several Indian states such as Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Assam, Mizoram, Manipur, and Nagaland, have been advocating for independence from Indian rule since 1947.