As many as 24 bodies of security personnel have been martyred in the Line of Duty and many are missing from the site after a gunfight broke out between security forces and Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, about 400 km from state capital Raipur.
Bijapur's superintendent of police Kamalochan Kashyap confirmed the toll. While the Director-General (Naxal Operations) of Chhattisgarh Police Ashok Juneja said the number of deaths has increased to eight. Yesterday, the number of security personnel that died in action was five.
The gunfight that broke out in Terram jungles along the borders of Bijapur and Sukma districts also resulted in the death of a suspected naxals, officials said.
“Some security personnel are missing and a search operation is on. Out of the five personnel, who lost their lives on Saturday, we have recovered the body of two and three are still in the jungle,” DM Awasthi, Chhattisgarh’s director general of police, said.
Earlier on Sunday, a senior police official stated that the operation to find the missing soldiers was underway and they expected an increase in the death toll. “The death toll could increase in the next few hours. The teams for evacuation have been sent to the jungles,” he said.
Given a strong refuge of a Naxal, on Saturday, separate joint teams of security forces, with over 2,000 personnel, launched a major operation from Bijapur and Sukma districts in the South Bastar forests, considered. At around 12 noon, the Maoists laid an ambush, leading to an encounter that lasted for three hours.
Home Minister assures all necessary help
Meanwhile, today Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and took stock of the situation. He also instructed the Director-General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) Kuldiep Singh to visit Chhattisgarh to assess the situation.
Assuring all necessary support from the Centre, Amit Shah told the chief minister: "The centre and state will fight together and win too.”
Also Read: Chhattisgarh: 7 CRPF troops missing, search on after gunfight with Maoists in Bijapur
"I bow to the sacrifices of our brave security personnel martyred while fighting Maoists in Chhattisgarh. Nation will never forget their valour. My condolences are with their families. We will continue our fight against these enemies of peace & progress. May injured recover soon," Mr Shah had tweeted earlier.
On March 23, five jawans of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) were executed while fourteen others were injured in serial IED blasts after alleged Maoists targeted the bus carrying them in the Narayanpur district of Bastar region. A similar incident on March 21, 2020, had killed 17 soldiers, including 12 from the DRG, who were killed in a Maoist ambush in the Sukma district of the region.