Raipur: Security forces gunned down six rebels of outlawed CPI (Maoist) including two women cadres in a fierce exchange of fire at Chipurbhatti area of an edgy district of Bijapur, about 350 km south Raipur on Wednesday.
According to the Bijapur police, a joint party of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Elite CoBRA unit and District Reserve Guards (DRG) had launched a search operation in the region after the Maoists had killed three villagers in the area on the day of Holi festival.
“The security forces moved out on the operation on Tuesday late night following a tip-off about the presence of Maoists in the region. The gunfight occurred between the forces and the Platoon no. 10 of Peoples' Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA) of the Maoists close to Talperu river”, a police officer told TNIE.
PLGA is cited as the military wing of the banned outfit.
So far six bodies have been recovered by the forces and are yet to be identified. Further details are awaited.
The forces claimed that after the encounter there remains a strong possibility that several Maoists might have sustained injuries.
There was however no report of any injury sustained by the forces that comprised personnel from 210, 205 battalion of CRPF’s elite commando unit CoBRA, 229 battalion of CRPF and the DRG from Bijapur district police force.
Bijapur is among the seven Maoists-affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar, south Chhattisgarh.