10 naxals gunned down in joint operation by Chhattisgarh-Telangana police, 1 greyhound constable killed in encounter

Security forces gunned down at least 10 naxals in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Friday.

The alleged Naxalites were killed in a joint operation by Telangana Police and Chhattisgarh Police in Pujari Kanker in the state's Bijapur district. One greyhound constable was injured in the operation.

Based on an intelligence report, the personnel of Greyhounds went 35-km into neighbouring Chhattisgarh area and launched an operation on the Maoist camp, they said.

The Greyhounds, Telangana's anti-Naxal force, attacked the camp as part of a joint operation with the Chhattisgarh Police. A jawan of the Greyhounds was injured in the gunfight, a senior police official said, adding those killed were yet to be identified, but senior Maoist leaders could be among them.

An AK-47 has been recovered from the encounter site. It is a normal practice with Maoists that hi-tech assault rifles are given to senior cadre members, officials said. The exchange of fire took place between a team of Greyhounds and rebels in a forest near Pujari Kanker under Pamed police station area, about 500 km from Raipur, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.

Security forces from Telangana and Chhattisgarh had launched a counter-insurgency operation in the forest on the inter-state border based on inputs about a gathering of a large group of ultras, he said.

Earlier this week, three security personnel were injured in an encounter with Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district. That gun-battle took place Monday afternoon on a hillock between Mungari and Dulargufa in Dantewada.