Bijapur: At least three Naxals were killed during an encounter with security forces in a forest at Usoor-Basaguda-Pamed tri-junction in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Friday. The Naxals first opened fire in a bid to escape from the spot which led to retaliatory fire from the security forces, the officials said.
The encounter started around 11 a.m., with intermittent gunfire reported between the security personnel and the Maoists. According to the Bijapur Superintendent of Police Dr Jitendra Kumar Yadav, all officers involved are safe. The search operation is continuing, and further information will be provided once the team returns.
The SP said that the Naxalites were killed in the retaliatory firing incident involving the police.
Police personnel have surrounded the area from all sides, and top officials are closely monitoring the encounter. The soldiers were conducting a routine search operation during an anti-Naxal operation when they received information about the presence of Naxalites in a core area of the forest. Acting on this intelligence, the police cordoned off the area and confronted the Naxalites. Currently, retaliatory firing is ongoing from both sides, the senior police official said.
"After the encounter, dead bodies of the Naxalites were found at the spot. Weapons and ammunition were also recovered", said Sundarraj P, Bastar IG.
ASP Chandrakant Govarna said that when the soldiers reached the core Naxal area inside the forest, the encounter took place. The soldiers showed bravery and killed two Maoists on the spot, he said. The rest of the Naxalites took advantage of the dense forest and fled from the spot.
The weapons recovered from the scene include 1 Sniper SLR Rifle, 1 Sniper Gun, 1 twelve bore gun and 2 glutton gun.
After Abujhmad encounter, Naxalites are planning some big incident, police officials said. A small action team of Naxalites is also active. On November 7, a 5 kg IED was recovered near Mutvendi security camp in Bijapur. On November 5, Naxalites planted a 5 kg IED bomb with pressure switch system between Sawanar and Korcholi. Soldiers deactivated the IED.
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