Indian forces kill two in Chhattisgarh amid intensifying crackdown
Raipur: Indian forces’ personnel have killed two individuals in Chhattisharh’s Sukma district during an ongoing crackdown in the region.
According to Kashmir Media Service, Indian police have claimed that the two slain individuals were Naxalites, who were killed in an encounter with a joint team of Indian forces in a forested area under the Kistaram police station jurisdiction in Sukma district. Authorities stated that the operation was carried out early this morning.
Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran Chavan said that personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action, an elite unit of the CRPF) were involved in the operation.
With the latest killings, the death toll from what authorities term “anti-Naxalite operations” in Chhattisgarh has risen to 83 this year alone. Of these, 67 were killed in the Bastar division, which comprises seven districts, including Sukma.
Observers note that the Indian government’s aggressive militarized approach in central India continues to fuel unrest, with such operations often result in not only the deaths of innocent people but also forced displacements and a pervasive climate of fear that continues to destabilize tribal communities.
