The home ministry decided to give a reward of Rs. 5 lakh for CRPF’s Cobra commandos who tracked down the helicopter and the injured Chhattisgarh armed police constable left behind by six Indian Air Force personnel after making an emergency landing.

The IAF chopper earlier had to abort its rescue mission after Maoists fired at the craft and injured a state police wireless operator in south Chhattisgarh. The pilot landed about 2-3 km from Chintagufa in south Bastar.

The IAF personnel — armed with LMG and other handheld weapons — left the injured police technician in the chopper in the Maoist heartland. The technician was rescued by Cobra teams.