Day after jawans went missing in Sukma, bodies of 17 found
Five STF and 12 reserve guards killed in jungles of Bastar
RAIPUR: The Chhattisgarh police on Sunday found bodies of 17 police jawans killed (the most of any security force in the state since April 2017) in an encounter with Maoists in the rebel hotbed of the Minpa jungles in Bastar’s Sukma district on Saturday.
“Seventeen security personnel (five Special Task Force, 12 District Reserve Guards) have lost their lives in an encounter in Sukma, Saturday. They were missing and security forces were trying to locate them after the encounter with Maoists,” said the police. In addition, 14 troopers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were injured.
State chief minister Bhupesh Baghel visited the injured security personnel at Rama Krishna Hospital here.
With the attack, experts say, the Maoists have attempted to show that they still hold sway over the dense forests of the region; in 2019, the rebels killed 22 security personnel, the lowest in the past five years, probably indicative of their diminishing influence in Bastar, a region that is considered a hotbed of leftwing extremism.
The state’s director general of police (DGP), DM Awasthi, said that on Friday, Sukma police received information about a gathering of 300-odd Maoists from Odisha and Telangana in the Elmagunda area, six kilometers from the Burkapal police camp. The information added that the Maoists were planning an attack on a police camp.
“About 500 jawans of the state police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) from Burkapal and Chintagufa camp started moving towards Elmagunda on Saturday morning. The force searched Elmagunda but there was no exchange of fire there. While they were returning around noon on Saturday, they faced firing from the rebels who had the advantage of being on higher ground,” Awasthi added.
Most of the jawans who were killed sustained bullet injuries on their chest.
The DGP said the encounter took place with battalion number one of Communist Part of India (Maoist), led by Mandavi Hidma. While there was no information on the number of Maoist casualties, he said, around a dozen Maoists were injured.
Bastar IG Sunderaj P said fifteen automatic rifles of the forces, including 12 AK-47S, were missing. He added that it was being investigated if the Maoists took away any ammunition.
Former DG of Chhattisgarh police MW Ansari said, “From what I gathered about Saturday’s encounter, there was a fierce gun battle and the forces of
Chhattisgarh fought bravely. Also, there must have been some intelligence failure which led to the attack and Chhattisgarh police should look into it. The area where the encounter took place is the stronghold of Maoists...it should be appreciated that Chhattisgarh police managed to break in.”
In Delhi, CRPF director general AP Maheshwari said that aided by the latest surveillance tools in the sky, security agencies are going deeper into Maoist strongholds as these new capabilities provide “real-time” information and guide the forces on “adversary” movements. He said his force was collaborating with the state police and intelligence agency units to end leftwing extremism.
500 jawans of state police and CRPF... searched Elmagunda but there was no exchange of fire. While they were returning... they faced firing from the rebels who had the advantage of being on higher ground. DM AWASTHI, director general of police, Chhattisgarh