Gariaband:Security forces gunned down two Naxalites in an encounter on Monday in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district, police said. The gunfight took place with intermittent firing from both sides in the Bhalu Diggi forest of Kulhadi Ghat of the Mainpur police station area, they said. The bodies of two Naxalites were recovered from the site, he said.
The injured soldier, a member of the CoBRA Battalion, was airlifted to Raipur using a helicopter for immediate medical treatment. Officials confirmed that joint forces from Odisha and Chhattisgarh were engaged in the operation.
Bhatigarh Stadium in Gariaband has been converted into a temporary cantonment. Security forces were conducting a routine search in the Kulhadi Ghat forest when they encountered the Naxalites.
With the latest incident, 28 Naxalites have been killed so far in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh in January. In a major operation, 12 Naxalites were killed by security personnel in Bijapur district on January 16. A total of 219 Naxals were neutralised by security forces in separate encounters in Chhattisgarh in 2024, officials had said.
Meanwhile, anti-Naxal operations are being carried out across all Naxal-affected districts, including Bastar. Union Home Minister Amit Shah has reiterated the government's commitment to eradicating Maoism from the country by 2026. (With PTI Inputs)
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