Two Security Personnel Killed in Encounter With Naxals in Sukma

The men were cordoning off a forest patch in south Chintagufa when they came under fire from the Naxals.

Evacuation of five injured jawans from Tondamarka to Raipur.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@mishra_au)

Two security personnel were killed and five others injured, three of them critically, in two separate encounters with Naxalites in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district, police said.

One Naxal was also gunned down during the operation, they said.

"While two district reserve guard (DRG) jawans were killed, five special task force (STF) personnel injured in two gunbattles between a joint team of security forces and ultras under Chintagufa police station limits in the district," Special DGP (anti-Maoist operations) DM Awasthi told PTI.

District Magistrate Awasthi said that Naxals had suffered heavy damage and they didn’t expect forces to launch an attack in Tondamarka. “The operation, named as ‘Operation Prahar’ is our biggest and most successful one so far,” he added.

The joint team, comprising personnel from STF, District Reserve Guard (DRG) and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action), was carrying out anti-Naxal operation in Chintagufa area, around 500 km, he said.

The team members were cordoning off a forest patch in the southern part of Chintagufa when they came under fire from a group of Naxals, the IPS officer said.

The security forces retaliated, triggering an exchange of fire, he said.

The DIG said on getting information about the gun battle, reinforcement was rushed to the spot and efforts were on to evacuate the injured jawans.

Further details were awaited, he added.

On 24 April, 25 CRPF personnel were killed in a Naxal ambush in Burkapal area under Chintagufa police station of limits of Sukma, the worst Maoist-affected district in the state.