Two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were injured during an exchange of fire that took place between the Security Forces (SFs) and the Maoists in the Ekavari Forest area under the Borai Police Station area in the Dhamtari District of Chhattisgarh on April 13, reports zeenews.india.com. Acting on information about the presence of 20 to 25 Maoists in the Ekavari Forest area, a joint team of the Special Task Force (STF), Gariabandh District Reserve Guard (DRG), Dhamtari DRG, and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) 211 battalion launched a search operation in the area. Seeing the SFs, the Maoists started firing, resulting in an exchange of fire between the SFs and Maoists. Seeing the SFs overpowering them, the Maoists fled from the spot by taking cover of the forest. During the search, SFs recovered a gun, Maoist uniform, and daily useful items of Maoists from the spot. The Police said that all the Maoists involved in the encounter are Maoists of the ‘Mainpur-Nuapada Division’ of the CPI-Maoist.
Seven Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres, identified as Madvi Deva alias Dinesh Madvi, Banjam Pojja, Kawasi alias Wando Ayata, Kalmu Ganga, Kalmu Sanna, Nuppo Pojja, and Rava Joga, were arrested in Kistaram area in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on April 14, reports ibc24.in. Kawasi had a bounty of INR 100,000 on him, and he was the ‘president’ of Dandakaranya Adivasi Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (DAKMS), a front organization of Maoists, under the Tatamgudu Revolutionary People's Council (RPC). Banjam Pojja was the ‘chairman’ of the ‘Padiyaro family committee’ under the Kistaram regional committee of the outlawed organisation. While Kalmu Ganga was the ‘deputy militia commander’ of the Maoists, the others were lower-level cadres. Police have recovered a muzzle-loading gun, three kilogrammes of black powder explosive, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) weighing eight kilogrammes, a tiffin bomb weighing three kilogrammes, and two gelatin sticks from the arrested Maoists.