1 CRPF jawan killed, another injured in encounter with Maoists in Saleghat area of Chhattisgarh's Dhamtari

One CRPF personnel was killed and another injured in an encounter with the Maoists in the Saleghat forest area of Dhamtari in Chhattisgarh early on Friday morning. “Head Constable Harish Chand was killed in the incident while Sudhir Kumar was injured,” the police said.

As per reports, there have been heavy losses to the Maoist settlement in the forest. The injured security personnel have been evacuated and taken to the hospital.

The skirmish took place in the forest near Chameda village in Dhamtari district when a joint team of CRPF’s 211 Battalion and District Force (DF) was out on an anti-Maoist operation, a police official told PTI. He said the patrolling team, comprising around 50 personnel of the CRPF and 10 of the DF, had launched the operation on April 3 in the interiors of Khallari and Borai police station areas.

When security forces were advancing through Chameda, a group of Maoists opened fire on them, leading to a gunfight, the official said. However, the Maoists fled when security forces retaliated. 

On Thursday, four Border Security Force (BSF) jawans were killed and two others injured at Kanker in Chhattisgarh in an encounter with Maoists. Earlier, it was reported that one jawan was killed and three were injured. Later on, the three injured jawans also succumbed to their injuries. Two other personnel, injured in the encounter, were taken to the Pakhanjore hospital, which took place in Kanker district, the police said. 

(With PTI inputs)