Kamal Ghorui
RAIPUR: Two Maoists were killed in an ongoing encounter with security forces in forests of Bijapur district in Bastar region on Thursday. Security personnel have recovered the Maoist bodies along with seizure of AK-47, a 9mm pistol and other arms and ammunition. The operation comes days after eleven jawans suffered injuries in IED blasts on Karegutta hills in the same district. The gunfight broke out in the southern part of Bijapur after inputs suggested the presence of armed Maoist cadres in the area. A District Reserve Guard (DRG) team had launched a search operation when it came under fire, triggering an exchange that has been continuing intermittently since around 7 am, officials said.By 1.30 pm, two bodies had been recovered from the encounter site, along with the weapons and ammunition. A combing and search operation in the surrounding forested terrain is continuing, and the operation is still underway, police said.The specific details such as the exact location of the encounter, the strength of the force involved, and other operational inputs at this stage, were withheld citing the need to ensure the safety of personnel deployed on the ground.A detailed report will be issued after the search operation is completed, said police. Bijapur, part of the Bastar region, has seen repeated confrontations between security forces and Maoist cadres as anti-insurgency operations intensify across interior pockets.
