RAIPUR: Twelve Naxalites were killed on Thursday during an intense gunfight with security forces in the forests of Bastar area in the strife-torn Bijapur district on Thursday, the police said.
“Based on specific information about the presence of Maoists at the given forest area, a joint team of security forces left on an anti-Maoist operation. On Thursday morning, there ensued an intermittent exchange of firings. Several Maoists are believed to have suffered casualties and according to the information reaching the district headquarters, the figure may be around 10. But the exact casualties of Maoists in the gunfight will be known by Friday morning when the forces carry out search operations in the region and return”, he added.
The operation involved personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG) across three districts, five battalions of the CRPF's elite jungle warfare unit, CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), and the 229th battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
This is the second major encounter in Bijapur this month.
On January 12, five Naxalites, including two women, were killed in a similar operation in the with the forces at terrain at the Bandepara-Koranjed jungled under the Indravati National Park in the Bijapur district.
Bijapur remains one of the worst Maoist-affected districts in Bastar and being cited as an epicentre of left-wing extremists in south Chhattisgarh.
There has been no report of any security personnel sustaining injuries in the encounter and further details were awaited.