Team News Riveting
Raipur, January 16
Over a dozen Maoists were gunned down by security forces in a fierce encounter in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday.
According to officials, bodies of 12 Maoists were discovered during the search operation in the area. The toll is likely to increase as the search operation is underway.
The encounter took place in a pocket bordering Telangana state in Bijapur district area that was considered to be a stronghold of Maoists. Based on a specific intelligence input about the presence of a large number of Maoists cadre including top leaders, an operation was launched on Thursday morning.
Over 1500 security personnel including District Reserve Guard (DRG) jawans from three districts including Bijapur, Sukma and Dantewada besides elite commandos of CRPF’s anti-Maoists battalion CoBRA participated in the operation. The CoBRA jawans, specialised in jungle warfare, were drawn from 229th battalion.
The jawans cordoned the rebels from all corners. Spotting the security personnel, Maoists opened fire. The jawans immediately took the position and returned the fire that resulted in the encounter. The intermittent firing continued through-out the day.
Sources said a huge cache of arms and ammunition including sophisticated weapons had been recovered from the spot.
