CoBRA commando, Naxalite killed in Chhattisgarh encounter

Raipur: A CoBRA commando of the CRPF and a Naxalite were killed during an anti-Maoist operation in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Thursday, officials said.

The operation is ongoing in the Tumrel area under the Usoor police station limits of the district, led by the 210th Battalion of CRPF's CoBRA unit and troops from the Chhattisgarh Police DRG and STF, the officials said.

A CoBRA commando has been killed in action while another has been injured, they said.

A Naxalite has also been neutralised in the exchange of fire and a weapon has been recovered, they added. The officials earlier identified the district where the operation is underway as Sukma.

An IAF helicopter has been pressed into service to evacuate the injured, officials said.

The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) is a special jungle warfare unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), which is the lead force for operations in the Left Wing Extremism-affected states.

The security forces are undertaking continuous operations in the LWE-affected states as part of the Union government's declaration to end the menace from the country by March next year.

The Bastar region in Chhattisgarh remains their core area of operation.

At least 27 Naxalites, including their top commander Nambala Keshav Rao (70) alias Basavaraju, the general secretary of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), were killed in an encounter with the District Reserve Guard (DRG) of Chhattisgarh Police in the forests along the Narayanpur-Bijapur border on Wednesday.