Raipur News:  Three Naxalites were killed in an encounter a day earlier (9 January) in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh. A reward of Rs 18 lakh was announced against the top leaders of the Naxalites here. The encounter took place in the hills of Paliguda-Gundragudem in Sukma, when a team of security forces had set out to conduct an operation against the Naxalites on Thursday morning. 

According to a PTI report, the bodies of three Naxalites have been recovered so far. One of them has been identified as Korsa Mahesh, who was an expert in IED explosions and was also the mastermind of the incidents of violence in Bijapur and Jagargunda of Sukma in 2023 and 2024. The officer said that he was active as a deputy commander in platoon number 3 of the Maoists.

A reward of 8 lakhs was declared on some and 5 lakhs on others

The officer said that a reward of Rs 8 lakh was declared on Korsa Mahesh. Sukma SP Kiran Chavan said that two other Naxalites have been identified as Madvi Naveen and Alvam Bhima who were committee members of the area and a reward of Rs 5 lakh each was declared on them. Two barrel grenade launchers, a 12 bore rifle, three tiffin bombs, five BGL shells, explosives and other items related to Maoists have been recovered from the encounter site. It is being told that Korsa Mahesh was an expert in making, planting and exploding IEDs.

Kosra Mahesh was involved in the blasts of Bijapur and Sukma

Korsa Mahesh was involved in several incidents. One of these was the incident in Bijapur in December 2023 in which CRPF sub-inspector Sudhakar Reddy was martyred. In June, a truck was hit by an IED in Jagargunda in which two CRPF jawans were martyred. SP Kiran Chavan said that 9 Naxalites have been killed in three separate encounters in the state this year.