At least five (5) jawans were martryred and two (2) naxals were gunned down in a fierce gun battle that broke out in the forests of Bijapur in Chhattisgarh on Saturday.
Among the five martyred jawans three were from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and two were from District Reserve Guard (DRG).
Moreover, 10 other jawans also sustained injuries in the encounter.
The encounter reportedly broke out when Naxals opened fire on a joint party of the CRPF and the DRG in the Silger forest of Bijapur’s Tarem.
Two Naxals including a woman operative were also killed in the encounter.
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“Five security personnel died and around 10 others sustained injuries in an exchange of fire with Naxals in jungles near Tarrem in Bijapur,” said Chhattisgarh DGP DM Awasthi.
“Personnel belonging to the CRPF’s elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Special Task Force (STF) were involved in the operation,” Chhattisgarh Director General of Police – DM Awasthi said.
Meanwhile, an emergency meeting of Chhattisgarh’s top police officials is underway, which is being attended by DGP DM Awasthi, Special DG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Ashoke Juneja and others.
In a similar attack, on March 23, five DRG personnel were killed when Naxals blew up a bus carrying security personnel with an IED in Narayanpur district.
Last month, Naxals killed a Zila Panchayat member in Bijapur district. Barely hours before the incident, Naxals set nearly 11 vehicles on fire in Dhanora area of Kondagaon district.