Tadgaon (Gadchiroli): Eleven decomposing and bloated bodies of slain Maoist cadres, including two women, were spotted floating by TOI in the waters of Indravati River at the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border in Gadchiroli on Monday, a day after security forces claimed to have gunned down 16 Naxalites at the spot. These bodies take the toll, in what appears to be an ambush, to 27.

The operation in Rale-Kasnasur forest was carried out by C-60 commandos of Gadchiroli police and Battalion 9 of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and seems to have taken a heavy toll on the cadres of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist). Senior officials claimed these 11 bodies were likely among the ones that could not be traced on Sunday after the encounter. However, the police seem to have made no effort to retrieve the bodies even on Monday. Some weapons too could be spotted with the bodies.

Unlike any usual encounter scene, no empty bullet cases were found at the spot. A few 12 bore live cartridges were lying around. Such rifles are used by the Naxalites.

Police recovered 16 bodies including that of two Divisional Committee Member ranks and another two commanders on Sunday itself. With a number of rucksacks and materials still lying around at the encounter site that is around half-a-kilometre in radius at the foot of Dodrimeta hillock, it is possible the Naxalite losses could mount further.

So far bodies of nine male and seven women cadres have been found. Police have managed to identify 11 of them and said the cumulative reward on slain Naxalites was around Rs76 lakh.

Gadchiroli SP Abhinav Deshmukh said a team had been dispatched to conduct further searches at the place. “The jawans who were engaged in the operations had claimed some fleeing cadres jumped into the water. Their bodies could only be retrieved after they float up,” he said.

It’s not clear why security forces chose to discontinue the search for bodies after the four-hour operation that ended at noon on Sunday. Retrieving bodies had been a major challenge in the past. Many times police have failed to claim their success in encounters as they could not find bodies of Naxalites.

An encounter casualty is recorded only after a body is recovered, as per rules. Maoists too had been very dogged in the past and dragged bodies of their slain comrades to ensure police could not claim success.

TOI was at the encounter site from 2.30pm and 5.30pm on Monday but could not see any recovery operations. The highly inaccessible spot requires a 15-km journey from Tadgaon junction on main Bhamragarh road. It includes a gruelling 5-km walk through dense forest, and wading through chest deep waters of Indravati and crossing a couple of smaller streams and nullahs, walking on slippery sharp rocks that get searing hot under the sun.

The hot sand of the exposed river bed too had to be encountered to reach the foothills of three forested hillocks of Dodrimeta, Kandameta and Addemeta that separate Gadchiroli from Chhattisgarh. The nearest hamlets are Boriya and Kasnausur, 3 and 5 kms away, respectively. Kasnasur is on the banks of Indravati River.

Though police have claimed this to be a genuine encounter, the spot on the bank of Indravati River was found strewn with open soap cases, used soaps, toothpaste tubes and brushes and so on suggesting several cadres could be either bathing or engaged in morning ablutions when cops surrounded them. Body of a semi-naked woman with just innerwear on suggested she must have been bathing and in no combative position. Both men and women’s innerwear was found drying on the tree branches.

There were several half burnt pouches of ‘Upma’ and utensils strewn everywhere suggesting the rebels were preparing their meals when the attack happened. TOI found numerous pouches of medicines, toiletries and a pen drive among the materials.

A lot of literature, including the party manual and constitution written in local languages, was also found. There was a detailed note on the programmes organized by Perimili dalam whose commander-cum-Divisional committee member Dolesh Atram alias Sainath and four other members were killed along with their Platoon 7 and Gatta Local Organizational Squad (LOS) members. Gatta LOS commander Bicchu Gawde and Aheri dalam commander Shantabai too are among those killed.

Police recovered AK-47 rifle of Sainath and also of Divisional committee member Vijendra Rawuthu alias Shreenu who was in-charge of south Gadchiroli division. SLR rifles of Gatta commander Gawde and Aheri Dalam commander Shantabai.

Sources in local hamlets claimed some Maoist cadres had come to enjoy a feast at the residence of Shoma Madavi at Kasnasur hamlet from where information about their presence likely got leaked. “The cops came from two sides and surrounded the cadres who were in a relaxed mood until then. We heard firing from 8am to 12 noon,” said a villager.



In Video: Gadchiroli: Bodies of 11 more Maoists found floating in Indravati river