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Chhattisgarh: 2 Maoists killed in gunfight with security forces in Bastar
The IGP said that a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation in the area when they came under attack from the Maoists
Raipur: The security forces in Bastar’s Bijapur district gunned down two Maoists, Chhattisgarh police Saturday said. Police said that they are trying to ascertain the identity of the deceased Maoists.
According to a statement issued by Inspector General of Police (IGP) (Bastar range) Sundarraj P, the gunfight between the security forces and Maoists took place around 8.30am in the forest under Gangaloor police station.
The IGP said that a team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation in the area when they came under attack from the Maoists.
The police had specific input about the Maoists’ camping in the tri-junction of Bijapur Dantewada and Sukma and on Friday, a joint operation was launched by the state’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters’, Central Reserve Police Force and its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and a Special Task Force (STF) advanced towards the area, the IG said in a statement.
At around 8.30am, when the forces were advancing towards the Pidia village, Maoists opened fire and the security forces retaliated.
“After guns fell silent, the bodies of two Maoists along with weapons were recovered from the spot. The identification of the Maoists is still going on” the IG said.
Meanwhile, in a separate incident, two jawans were injured in an IED blast in the Sukma district, police said.
As part of the same operation on Friday night, two jawans of Bastar Fighters were injured after a pressure improvised explosive device (IED) planted went off along the Dantewada-Sukma border, IG Sundarraj said.
“The blast occurred in a forest near Doditumnar village under the Jagargunda police station area in Sukma district when the forest along the inter-district border was being cordoned off,” he said.
The injured jawans have been identified as Vikas Kumar Karma and Rakesh Kumar Markam, both constables of Bastar Fighters.
The two were taken to a local hospital before being airlifted to Raipur for further treatment, Sundarraj said.
