RAIPUR: Indian security forces shot dead three Maoist rebels in eastern India on Thursday, police said, days after eight were killed in the region, as authorities seek to quell a long-running conflict.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in the decades-long insurgency waged by the rebels who say they are fighting for the rights of marginalised groups.
The latest gun battle occurred on Thursday in the forested areas of Bijapur district in the state of Chhattisgarh.
“So far three bodies have been recovered. The toll may go up,” senior police official Sundarraj P told AFP, adding that the three killed were women.
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Several weapons and explosives were also recovered from the site, police said.
The Maoists demand land, jobs and a share of the region’s immense natural resources for locals.
They made inroads in a number of remote communities across India’s east and south, and the movement gained in strength and numbers until the early 2000s.
At their peak, the rebels had an estimated strength of 15,000 to 20,000 fighters.
But now the insurgency is a shadow of its former self as a result of years of counterinsurgency operations.
Indian commandos shot dead eight rebels on Monday in the mineral-rich state of Jharkhand, which borders Chhattisgarh.
Security forces killed 30 Maoists last month and another 31 in February.
Amit Shah, India’s home minister, said last year that the government expected to crush the rebellion by early 2026.
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