Five security personnel killed by Naxals in Chhattisgarh

At least three naxals are believed to have been killed in the exchange of fire when security forces were conducting search operation , Additional Director General of Police Ramniwas said. One security personnel was injured.

Ramniwas said the incident occured when 77 security personnel comprising officers and jawans from Border Security Force(BSF), District Police and Special Police Officers(SPO) set out in the jungles in Kanker distraict for "area domination" exercise. Naxals opened fire as soon as the security personnel reached the forests near Bhuski village killing five of them, he said.

This is the first time that BSF jawans have been killed in Naxal attack in Chhattisgarh where the victims among the security forces have been mainly men from CRPF, state police and SPOs. The security forces retaliated, forcing the outlaws to flee. He said the police who searched the area where the exchange of fire took place came across a pool of blood indicating there could be many casualties on the part of Naxals as well. However, the police were able to spot only three bodies being taken away by the naxals.

A Special Police Officer sustained a bullet wound in his leg and has been admitted to hospital. Superintendent of Police, Kanker, Ajay Yadav said the Naxals have taken away arms of the five security personnel after killing them.

He said additional police force has been deployed in the area following the incident. In another incident, a Naxal was killed and another injured in an encounter with police in Chhattisgarh's Bijaur district, police said. Acting on a tip-off that Naxals were camping in the area and planning to carry out an attack, a police team was sent to Mankeli village in the district, Police spokesperson Rajesh Mishra told PTI.

When the police team reached the jungles in the village some Naxals opened fire at them and in retaliatory firing one of them was killed while another was injured, he said, adding explosives were found at the spot. The injured Naxal was admitted to a hospital where he is undergoing treatment, he said.