NEW DELHI: Bodies of three Maoists along with a major cache of arms, explosives and automatic firearms have been recovered from Chattisgarh. Bijapur district, police officials confirmed Sunday.
Efforts are underway to identify the deceased as search operations continue. The operation took place in the dense forest under the Bijapur National Park area.
The encounter followed an explosion on Saturday, in which a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was injured by an improvised explosive device planted by Maoists. The explosion occurred when a team of CRPF’s 196 Battalion, stationed at Mahadev Ghat, was carrying out an area domination exercise. The injured jawan was admitted to Bijapur district hospital for treatment.
Maoists have repeatedly used improvised explosive devices to attack security forces, in response to which security personnel have intensified demining efforts to mitigate such threats.
Earlier on Thursday an important meeting took place at the Sukma-Bijapur borderresulting in the recovery of three bodies and several weapons. Superintendent of Police (SP) Sukma Kiran Chavan revealed that teams from the district reserve guard, special task force and jungle warfare unit of the CRPF were involved in the operation.
The encounter at the Sukma-Bijapur border came after a tragic IED attack that killed eight jawans. The attack left a huge crater in the road and the remains of the security vehicle were scattered over a wide area. Security forces later deployed additional personnel to secure the location.