Raipur: As many as 12 Maoist were killed following a fierce exchange of fire between security forces and Maoists in the Bijapur district of Bastar division on Thursday, January 16, police said.
The gunfight broke out in the early hours of the day, when a joint team of security forces was out on an area domination exercise in the forested zones of south Bijapur.
Intermittent firing was continuing till late Thursday evening and 12 Maoists were killed in the action according to the preliminary information received, said a senior official of the police.
An extensive search operation is being carried out in the vicinity of the encounter site and more details about the gunfight are awaited, he added.
Earlier, two personnel of Central Reserve Police Force were injured in a pressure Improvised Explosive Device (IED) blast planted by Maoists near Putkel village under the Basaguda police station area on Thursday morning.
The incident occurred when a team of security forces were out on a combing operation. Both the injured personnel were evacuated and subsequently airlifted to Raipur.
The blast comes amid the security forces intensifying anti-Maoist operations in Bijapur and other Maoist-affected areas of Bastar.
Notably five Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Bijapur district on Sunday. Several automatic and other weapons and explosives were recovered from the forests under the National Park area of the Bijapur district.
The recovered weapons included one SLR rifle, one 12-bore rifle, two single-shot rifles, one BGL launcher, and one locally made Bharmar gun, along with explosives, Maoist literature, and other materials.
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