Days after a major attack in neighbouring Orissa, 13 Maoist extremists and six Central Reserve Police Force personnel were killed in an encounter on Monday afternoon in Bijapur district of south Bastar region in Chhattisgarh, about 600 km from Raipur. The police claim to have recovered bodies of 10 Maoist extremists killed in the counter. Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) R K Vij said the dead CRPF personnel included three head constables and three constables. “The incident took place under the Mirtur police station in the hills of Tadkel on Monday afternoon”, the IGP added. The IGP said the security forces were on a search mission in the area since the morning. “The Naxalites were waiting for an ambush and attacked a patrol. It was followed by heavy firing between the security forces and Naxalites in which three extremists were also killed”, Vij said. Police sources stated that another team of security personnel comprising Special Task Force and district police was sent for their aid. “The rescue team intercepted the fleeing Naxalites and engaged them in an encounter near Adesmetta, about 5 km from the original encounter site”, the IGP said. A fierce gun battle continued for over two hours in which 10 more extremists were killed. “The police have recovered 10 bodies of uniformed Naxalites killed in the encounter”, Vij added. After the encounter, Naxalite cadres reportedly fled to nearby jungles. He said a search-and-rescue mission has been launched in the area.Police sources claimed that the number of extremists killed by the security forces could increase.Monday’s attack follows the February 2 clash in which one sub-inspector and three CRPF constables posted in Narayanpur district of north Bastar were killed in a landmine blast.
