Raipur, May 13 -- The Chhattisgarh police on Monday said they have recovered the bodies of 31 suspected Maoists in the ongoing anti-left wing extremism operation Sankalp in the dense forests surrounding the Karregutta hills in Bijapur district along the state's border with Telangana. Sankalp, a decisive operation against Maoists, involving around 28,000 security personnel has been going on in the south-west Bastar region, adjoining Telangana, since April 21. Police, however, did not specify when and where the 31 Maoists were killed. Police have identified 20 of the deceased Maoists whose bodies were recovered from the forests and of these, bodies of 11 ultras have been handed over to their families after completion of post-mortem examinations and other legal formalities, the Bijapur police said in a statement on Monday. "The identification process for the remaining 11 bodies is underway. Once the process is complete, their bodies will also be returned to their respective families," it added. When asked about specific details, especially about encounter/s in which the 31 Maoists were killed, Bijapur superintendent of police (SP) Jitendra Yadav said a detailed information regarding the operation will be shared during a press briefing on Wednesday. On April 24, three women Maoists were gunned down in the south-west Bastar region, and a significant cache of weapons, explosives, and other materials was seized. Days later, another woman Maoist was killed on May 3, whose body is yet to be identified. On May 7, police officers said that 22 Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the forests of Bijapur district during operation Sankalp. "So far, we have good operational outcomes in the ongoing anti-Maoist operations in south-west Bastar. All security forces are safe and fully committed to ensuring a safe and secure Bastar region. As the operation is currently in progress, specific details cannot be disclosed at this time for security reasons. Authorised authorities will share further information at an appropriate time," a police officer said, asking not to be named. Security officials on the ground maintained that around 28,000 troops are involved in the operation and that around 35 encounters have taken place since April 21. "We have recovered more than 400 IEDs and around 40 weapons along with approximately 2 tonnes of explosive materials," another police officer said, also declining to be named. The operation, described as one of the largest counter-insurgency missions in Bastar, includes personnel from the Chhattisgarh police's District Reserve Guard, Bastar Fighters, STF, the CRPF, and its elite CoBRA unit. The counter-LWE offensive was launched following intelligence inputs about the presence of top Maoist leaders, including those from the Telangana state committee and the heavily armed Battalion Number 1-considered the strongest military wing of the Maoists. According to police, the Karregutta hill range serves as a stronghold for the battalion. So far, hundreds of Maoist hideouts and bunkers have been destroyed, and large quantities of explosives, detonators, food supplies, and daily-use items have been recovered....