Bijapur (Chhattisgarh): A Naxal was killed and a CRPF jawan sustained a bullet injury in an encounter between security forces and ultras in a forest of Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Tuesday, police said. A resident of a nearby village was also found injured at the encounter site, an official said. The skirmish took place this afternoon in the forest near Nadpalli village under Usoor police station limits when a joint team of security personnel was out on a search and road security operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
'Personnel belonging to 196th and 222nd battalions of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were involved in the operation. When the patrolling team was cordoning off a forest near Nadpalli at around 3:30 pm, a gunfight broke out and it lasted for around 45 minutes. A reinforcement party of Special Task Force (STF) and CRPF personnel was also rushed to the spot,' the IG said 'The body of a male Naxal clad in 'uniform' was found at the spot along with a weapon. Constable Mithlesh Kumar, belonging to CRPF's 196th battalion, sustained a bullet injury on his waist and has been hospitalised. A man identified as Kottam Soma, a native of Nadpalli, was also found injured. He might have been hit during a crossfire. He has been shifted to Bijapur district hospital and he is said to be out of danger,' the official informed. A search operation was still underway in the area, he added.