
Five security personnel were killed and 12 others injured in an encounter with Naxals in a forest along the border between Bijapur and Sukma districts in Chhattisgarh on Saturday, said police officials.
The body of a woman Maoist was also retrieved from the encounter spot. “Separate joint teams of security forces, over 2,000 in number, had launched a major anti-Naxal operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered as the Maoist stronghold, on Friday night,” state’s Deputy Inspector General (anti-Naxal operations) OP Pal said.
The personnel belonged to CRPF’s elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), the DRG (District Reserve Guard), and the STF (Special Task Force). The operation was launched from five places namely Tarrem, Usoor, Bijapur, Minpa, and Sukma. One of the personnel martyred belonged to the CoBRA unit and two each from the DRG and the Bastariya battalion of the CRPF.
According to the reports, 15 security personnel are still missing following the encounter. For the last 10 days, security forces in Chhattisgarh were getting information about the whereabouts of Madvi Hidma, a top Naxal of banned CPI (Maoist) who has been linked to major attacks including the 2013 Jhiram Ghati killings.