Bijapur: Twelve Naxalites, including a dreaded Maoist commander, and three personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a specialised unit of the state police, were killed in a fierce encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday, officials said.
Two other DRG jawans suffered injuries in the gunfight, they said, adding the anti-Naxal operation was still underway in the district.
The gun battle broke out in a forest along the border of Bijapur-Dantewada districts when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj Pattilingam said.
Personnel belonging to the DRG from Dantewada and Bijapur, and Special Task Force, both units of the state police, and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action- an elite unit of CRPF) were involved in the operation, he said.
So far, bodies of 12 Naxalites have been recovered from the encounter spot.
One of them has been identified as Modiyam Vella, while the identity of the remaining dead cadres was yet to be ascertained, he added.
Vella was active as commander of company no. 2 of PLGA (People’s Liberation Guerrilla Army) of Maoists and involved in several incidents of attacks on security forces, including the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma), wherein 17 security personnel lost their lives, and Tekalgudem (Bijapur) attack in which 22 security personnel were killed in 2021, Pattilingam said, adding that he carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.
Besides, one Light Machine Gun, Single Loading Rifles (SLRs), Insas rifles, .303 rifles and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the site, he said.
“Head constable Monu Vadadi, constable Dukaru Gonde and jawan Ramesh Sodhi, belonging to the DRG Bijapur, were martyred in the encounter, while two other DRG personnel - assistant sub-inspector Janardan Korram and constable Somdev Yadav - sustained injuries,” Pattilingam said.
All three deceased personnel were natives of Bijapur district.
The injured jawans were immediately provided first aid and were stated to be out of danger now, said the IGP, adding appropriate arrangements were being made for their further medical treatment.
With the latest action by security forces, 275 Naxalites have been killed in encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year.