RAIPUR, India: Indian security forces shot dead a top Maoist commander and nine other guerrillas in a gunbattle, an official said on Friday, as they ramp up efforts to crush the long-running conflict.
India is waging an all-out offensive against the last vestiges of the Naxalite rebellion, named after the village in the foothills of the Himalayas where the Maoist-inspired guerrilla movement began nearly six decades ago.
More than 12,000 rebels, soldiers and civilians have been killed since a handful of villagers rose up against their feudal lords there in 1967.
The latest gunbattle took place late on Thursday along the forested border between the states of Odisha and Chhattisgarh, senior police officer Vivekanand Sinha said.
“Among those killed is Modem Balkrishna, who was in charge of the Maoist organization in Odisha and is also known by many other names,” Sinha said.
