RAIPUR: Six personnel of CoBRA, an elite unit of the CRPF, injured during an encounter with Maoists in the insurgency-hit district of Bijapur were air-lifted to Raipur for immediate medical attention.
“The condition of one of the jawans continues to be critical. They are all undergoing treatment in Raipur after being airlifted by chopper from Bijapur district,” said CRPF spokesperson B C Patra.
Two CoBRA personnel were killed and six others seriously injured in a fierce gunfight with the Maoists near Irapalli in Bijapur district, about 400 km south of Raipur, on Monday.
Based on a tip-off, a team of CoBRA personnel from the 204th battalion left on an anti-Maoist operation. Close to Pamed in south Bijapur, the Maoists opened fire resulting in an encounter.
The deceased were identified as constable Vikash Kumar from Banda in Uttar Pradesh and constable Purnanand Sahu from Rajnandgaon in Chhattisgarh. The deputy commandant of the CRPF is among the injured, the spokesperson added.
Sahu was to get married next month at Rajnandgaon.
Bijapur is among the seven districts of the conflict zone of Bastar in south Chhattisgarh affected by the Maoist violence.