Kewat guided the team through a fierce firefight with the Naxalites.T he 17-year veteran of the Chhattisgarh police force has won six gallantry medals.
For years, Naxalite activities have plagued Chhattisgarh's Bastar district. The killing of 29 Naxals during the Kanker encounter is a huge relief. With polling teams arriving in the area to prepare for voting, the killing of the Naxals brings some respite ahead of the Lok Sabha Election 2024. Laxman Kewat, the mastermind behind the Kanker encounter, has declared that he is no longer "counting kills."
Kewat guided the team through a fierce firefight with the Naxalites.T he 17-year veteran of the Chhattisgarh police force has won six gallantry medals.
According to Kewat, the operations began to take shape on April 13 when he got information about a sizable Maoist gathering in the vicinity of Chhotebetiya. Security forces, comprising members of the District Reserve Guard and Chhattisgarh police's Bastar Fighters, as well as the Border Security Force team under Kewat, began their operation on April 16.
Kewat told the Hindustan Times, "At around 10 am, when we crossed the Kotri river, the Maoist sentries burst crackers to warn their senior cadre."
The security personnel then divided into three groups and proceeded. "Inspector Kewat was the principal planner and leader of the encounter that eliminated 29 Maoists," Kanker SP stated on Wednesday. Before the Kanker encounter, the 38-year-old inspector is renowned within the security services as a "encounter mastermind" and is believed to have killed 44 maoists.
Kewat said, "The first fire came from a hill that is surrounded by a dense forest. The three parties converged on the hill. We were aware that they would attempt to escape when descending so we began to cordon it off. The firing lasted for four hours, and we found 29 bodies on the hill. We think they were a group of around 40 cadre and some may have escaped."
Laxman Kewat acknowledged the difficulties encountered, stating that many obstacles arose when the front moved to the most dangerous locations where bombs began to go off. Kewat said to ANI, "We coordinated very well and carried out the operation...we had information that like last time, they were planning to attack the security team and hinder election process. Keeping this in mind, we planned the operation and we were successful."
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 "Meet man, Maoists' nemesis, who led Kanker encounter in Chhattisgarh")
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