Raipur: As per the media reports coming in from the state of Chattisgarh atleast 25 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) have died during an encounter with Maoists here in Sukhma here on Monday afternoon, The encounter began at around 1 PM and the personnels from 74th Battalion of the CRPF were involved as they were out at a routine patrolling of the area.
The injured CRPF jawans of the 74th battalion being shifted to a hospital in Raipur on Monday.(HT Photo)
It is claimed that the Maoists had first sent locals to find out the position of the CRPF, one of the survivors told while talking to the media. “Then we were set upon by 300 of them… villagers, women and the militia-types in black uniforms. They carried automatic weapons, AK 47, Insas rifles,” he added said.
The injured men have been air-lifted and sent to Raipur and Jagdalpur for treatment. Sources in the home ministry said two of the bodies have been recovered, notes NDTV in its report.
Following the attack, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh cut short his visit to Delhi and rushed back to Raipur for an emergency meeting.
Sukma is part of south Bastar, which for decades has been dominated by the Maoists. On 11 March this year, 12 CRPF men were killed and four were injured in an ambush in Sukma. The forces were providing security cover for road construction on the Bheji-Gorkha-Injiram Axis area, reads a quote from a report published in an English vernacular.