A CoBRA commando of the CRPF and a Naxalite were killed during an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday, officials said.
The operation is ongoing in the Tumrel area, under the Usoor police station limits of the district, and is being led by the 210th Battalion of the CRPF’s CoBRA unit, along with personnel from the Chhattisgarh Police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF), officials confirmed.
One CoBRA commando was killed in action, while another sustained injuries.
A Naxalite was also neutralised in the exchange of fire, and a weapon was recovered from the site. Officials had earlier mistakenly identified the location of the operation as Sukma district.
An Indian Air Force (IAF) helicopter has been deployed to evacuate the injured personnel.
The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) is a specialised jungle warfare unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which is the lead paramilitary force engaged in operations in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE).
Security forces are conducting sustained operations in LWE-affected states as part of the Union government’s commitment to eliminate the Maoist threat from the country by March next year.
The Bastar region in Chhattisgarh continues to be the stronghold of Maoist activity.
At least 27 Naxalites, including their top commander Nambala Keshav Rao (70), also known as Basavaraju, the general secretary of the banned CPI (Maoist), were killed in an encounter with the DRG of the Chhattisgarh Police in the forests along the Narayanpur-Bijapur border on Wednesday.
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