Three Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Friday, police said. The gunfight broke out at around 11 am on the forested hills of Rekhapalli-Komathpalli on the tri-junction of Usoor-Basaguda-Pamed in the district, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
Personnel belonging to District Reserve Guard (DRG), Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) were involved in the operation that was launched based on inputs about the presence of Maoists in the area, the IG said.
“After the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of three Naxalites clad in uniform were recovered from the spot. One self loading rifle (SLR), one sniper weapon, one 12 bore rifle, one muzzle loading rifle, barrel grenade launcher shells and ammunitions were seized,” he said. “The identity of the killed Naxalites has not been ascertained as yet. The search operation is continuing in the area,” Sundarraj informed.
With this operation, a total of 192 Naxalites have been gunned down by security forces in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur, as per police. On October 4, security forces had recovered bodies of 31 Naxalites following an encounter in a forest along the border of Narayanpur-Dantewada districts in the region.
