12 Naxals, 3 cops killed in encounter in Bijapur district

Bijapur (Chhattisgarh): Twelve Naxalites, including a dreaded Maoist commander, and three personnel of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a specialised unit of the state police, were killed in a fierce encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Wednesday, officials said. Two other DRG jawans suffered injuries in the gunfight, they said, adding the anti-Naxal operation was still underway in the district.

The gun battle broke out in a forest along the border of Bijapur-Dantewada districts when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj Pattilingam said.

Personnel belonging to the DRG from Dantewada and Bijapur, and Special Task Force, both units of the state police, and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action- an elite unit of CRPF) were involved in the operation, he said. So far, bodies of 12 Naxalites have been recovered from the encounter spot.