RAIPUR: Three security personnel were injured in two separate encounters with Naxals in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh today, police said.
"While two police personnel were injured in the skirmish that took place around 10.30 am, one Special Task Force (STF) jawan was injured in the gun-battle this evening," Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dantewada region) Sundarraj P told PTI.
Both the incidents took place in Basaguda area of the district, he added.
Joint teams of STF, District Reserve Guard (DRG), CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and district police were out on the operation based on inputs about the location of Maoist hideouts in Basaguda and Awapalli police area, around 450-km away from here, since yesterday.
When security force were advancing through the forests of Raigundam village on the border of Bijapur and Sukma districts around 10:30 am, armed Naxals opened indiscriminate firing on them, leading to a gun-battle between both the sides, the DIG said.
However, the rebels soon fled the spot on finding the security personnel zeroing on them, he added.
"A DRG head constable Raju Kodmul and an assistant constable of district police Suresh Madkam were injured in the incident," he said.
"As per the injured jawans, after spotting that a couple of Naxals were hit by bullets in the exchange of fire, they were trying to retrieve their bodies. In the process, they came under fire by back-up support group of Naxals leaving two of the jawans injured," the DIG said.
In the meantime, the ultras managed to drag the body of their colleagues inside the forest taking advantage of the thick vegetation, the official said.
"While Kodmul received bullet injury in his abdomen, Madkam suffered an injury on his leg," he added.
After getting the information, an Mi-17 chopper was sent to evacuate the injured personnel, the DIG said, adding that they were airlifted to Raipur, where they have been admitted to a private hospital.
In a separate incident, the same team of security forces came face to face with a group of ultras while cordoning off the forests later in the evening following which an encounter broke out between the two sides that left one STF jawan injured, he said.
After a brief exchange of fire the Naxals escaped taking the advantage of darkness, he said.
The effort was on to evacuate the injured jawan out from the forest. The counter–insurgency operation was still underway in the region, the DIG added.