CoBRA jawan injured in an exchange of fire with Naxals in Sukma

A CoBRA jawan was injured on Friday in an exchange of fire with Naxals in the dense forests of Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Sukma district, police said.

The skirmish took place in the wee hours when a team of CRPF’s elite CoBRA (Commando Battalion For Resolute Action) 201^st battalion was conducting an anti-Naxal operation in the interiors of Chintalnar police outpost a Naxal hotbed, Sukma Additional Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla told PTI.

Based on a specific input about a meeting of ultras in Surpanguda forests, the operation was launched by the paramilitary personnel from Chintalnar last evening, he said.

While cordoning-off the region, located around 450 Kms from the state capital, when the security men reached Surpanguda village forests, the Naxals opened indiscriminate fire on them leaving head constable Rajeev Tomar, a radio operator, injured, the ASP said.

However, the Maoists soon fled from the spot as the jawans launched a retaliatory attack on them, he said.

“Tomar, belonging to CoBRA 201^st battalion, sustained bullet injuries on his shoulder,” he said. Reinforcement was immediately rushed to the spot and the injured jawan was evacuated from the forest, the ASP said, adding that he has been airlifted to Raipur for treatment.