Five commandos of a battalion of CRPF's jungle warfare unit CoBRA were on Thursday injured in a gun-battle with activists of the banned CPI (Maoist) in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district, police said.
Three jawans suffered bullet injuries while two others had splinter injuries, SP Ashutosh Shekhar told PTI.
The injured security personnel have been airlifted to a hospital in Ranchi, and their condition is stated to be stable, he said. Shekhar said several Maoists were also injured in the gunfight that broke out in a forest in Tonto area, after the red rebels opened fire on approaching security personnel, who were undertaking a search operation.
They, however, managed to escape through the dense forest, he said.
Security forces comprising joint teams of the CRPF and Jharkhand Police have been conducting a massive search operation in the area since the last two weeks to nab Maoist leader Misir Besra, who carries a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head. A large number of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs), along with arms and ammunition were seized during the operation.
Deccan Herald is on WhatsApp Channels| Join now for Breaking News & Editor's Picks