CRPF jawan killed, 3 hurt in naxal strike

A CRPF jawan was killed and three others were injured in a <g data-gr-id="18">gun-fight</g> with <g data-gr-id="17">naxals</g> in Bijapur district on Tuesday. The skirmish occurred in the forests between <g data-gr-id="22">Guttum</g> and <g data-gr-id="23">Timapur</g> villages under Basaguda police station limits when the paramilitary forces were carrying out a search operation in the region, Bijapur Additional Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela told PTI. A squad of Central Reserve Paramilitary Force’s 168th battalion had launched a combing exercise from <g data-gr-id="24">Timapur</g> to <g data-gr-id="25">Guttum</g> and then back to <g data-gr-id="26">Timapur</g> in Basaguda, located around 450 <g data-gr-id="27">kms</g> away from the state capital. On their way back, when they reached near <g data-gr-id="28">Mendra</g> village, 4 <g data-gr-id="29">kms</g> ahead of <g data-gr-id="30">Timapur</g>, a group of Maoists opened indiscriminate fire on the security personnel leaving three of them injured, he said.

However, <g data-gr-id="15">naxals</g> fled to the forests when the jawans retaliated. “Constable Sunil Ram succumbed to his injuries while being taken out of the jungle. The injured constables- <g data-gr-id="21">Dharmendar</g> Singh Bhadoria, Srijeet and Rakesh Kumar were airlifted to the state capital Raipur for treatment,” Elesela said, adding that the injured jawans have been admitted here at a private hospital and kept under observation.