Raipur/Dantewada: Gummadiveli Renuka, also known by several aliases including Bhanu, Chaitya, Saraswati, and Damyanti, a senior member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee, a faction of the banned CPI (Maoist) was killed in an encounter on Monday in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district.

Her body was recovered in the morning and later identified by security forces. Renuka, a resident of Kadvendi in Warangal district and in charge of the press team for the Dandakaranya Special Zone, carried a bounty of ₹25 lakh on her head.

Security forces recovered an INSAS (Indian Small Arms System) rifle, ammunition, and other weapons from the encounter site.

Dantewada Superintendent of Police Gaurav Rai informed a news agency, "On March 30, local informants provided intelligence about the presence of Naxals and senior cadres. Based on this, DIG Bastar personnel launched an operation at around 9 AM. The encounter lasted for 1-2 hours, after which a search operation led to the recovery of a woman’s body, weapons, and a laptop."

Rai confirmed the deceased, identified as Gummadiveli Renuka, was a resident of Warangal and headed the press team at the Central Regional Board. She had been with the Maoist organisation since 1996 and held an LLB degree.

Recent Encounters in Chhattisgarh

In two separate encounters on Saturday, at least 18 suspected Maoists were killed, while four security personnel sustained injuries in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma and Bijapur districts. According to the Inspector General (IG), three injured personnel were from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) Sukma, and one was from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF). All injured personnel are reported to be in stable condition.

In Bijapur, a Maoist was killed during an encounter in the Narsapur jungles on Saturday evening. Security forces recovered the body and weapons, though the identity of the deceased is yet to be confirmed.

In Sukma, an encounter took place on Saturday morning following intelligence reports of Maoist presence in the Gogunda, Nendum, and Upampalli areas under the Kerlapal police station. A joint team of DRG Sukma and CRPF was dispatched on Friday for an anti-Maoist operation, which resulted in a gunfight on Saturday morning.

Officials reported that since January, a total of 119 Maoist bodies have been recovered in various encounters across the Bastar Range. (With Agency Inputs)