After gunfight, chopper looks for missing cops in Chhattisgarh

Police today sent a chopper to the southern Maoist-hit areas of Chhattisagrh to look for five policemen who went missing after battling guerrillas in Dantewada district on Friday.

Police on Saturday sent a chopper to the southern Maoist-hit areas of Chhattisagrh to look for five policemen who went missing after battling guerrillas in Dantewada district on Friday.

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"Some five policemen are still missing. A chopper has been pressed into service on Saturday morning to look for them," a police officer said.

However, he said: "The operation did not yield expected results compared to the number of skilled force put in the offensive. Over 500 policemen battled throughout Friday and hardly 10 rebels bodies were found. Even they (Maoists) managed to kill a senior officer."

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer and at least 10 Maoists were killed on Friday as hundreds of security personnel launched operations against the guerrillas across Chhattisgarh's Bastar region. A deputy commandant of the CRPF was killed and several troopers were injured when the guerrillas retaliated after coming under heavy fire in operations led by the special anti-Maoist force, Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (Cobra).

But Additional Director General of Police Girdhari Nayak told IANS: "The operation, in which the gunfight stretched till late evening on Friday, was very successful. Maoists had been seen running for cover throughout the day."