Naxalite ambush averted, courtesy a hillock
A CRPF TROOPER WAS KILLED AND TWO INJURED IN THE ENCOUNTER THAT TOOK PLACE IN GADCHIROLI’S TALWARGARH AREA
NEW DELHI: At least 40 Naxalites surrounded a contingent of 50 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel and 20 policemen in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli on Sunday evening but security forces were able to force the insurgents to retreat after 30 minutes of gun battle.
CRPF sources said that the forces, during a patrol, had reached the top of a hillock, which put them in a position of advantage to foil the attempted ambush.
A CRPF trooper was killed and two injured in the encounter that took place in Gadchiroli’s Talwargarh area. As per the CRPF’s preliminary assessment, shared with the home ministry, the incident on Sunday had “all the markings” of a lethal ambush similar to past attacks. Officials said a Naxalite outfit, Tippagarh Dalam, of north Gadchiroli was suspected to be behind the attack.
In 2017, 70 paramilitary officials have died fighting leftwing extremists across the country. Twelve CRPF troopers were killed again in an ambush in Sukma this March. Twentyfive CRPF personnel were killed in an ambush in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh in April.
Intelligence sources said 50 CRPF troopers and 20 police officials were conducting longrange patrolling after a tip-off. When the search team reached Dyarapatti Dhanra, around 1.5km from a camp of the 113 bat- talion of CRPF, they were fired upon. At 3.40pm, a small group of Naxalites engaged the troopers in 10-15 minute gun battle before fleeing.
The firing began when the security forces were approaching LUP, or the lying up position. The LUP is a tactical place where a unit of security forces stops for a brief period to ready themselves for an ambush or a raid after intelligence alerts. In this case, the LUP was a hillock.
“After the first gun-fight, Naxalites called in reinforcements and at 7.50pm, around 40 of them attempted to surround the hill- ock. This indicates that a large troop had been waiting for our forces but we managed to retaliate effectively,” a senior officer told HT.
Official documents state the second gun-fight lasted 30 minutes in which 31-year-old trooper, Manjunath Jakkarnavar, was killed while two others received bullet injuries.