A day after five jawans were killed in a gunfight between the security forces and Maoists at a forest in Chhattisgarh’s Jonaguda, a total of 17 bodies were found from the encounter site on Sunday. PTI
After Saturday’s encounter, 18 security personnel went missing. As details of the encounter keep emerging, it appears to be one of the biggest attacks on India’s security forces in the last few years.
Not much is known about whether the Maoists also suffered losses, or what kind of weapons they used against the security forces. But the possibility of this being a planned attack is not being dismissed yet. One woman Maoist is believed to have been killed.
Union home minister Amit Shah said a befitting reply will be given to the Naxal attack in Chhatisgarh at an appropriate time. He also said search operations are continuing in Chhattisgarh following the encounter. “As far as the numbers are concerned, both sides have suffered losses and exact casualty figures cannot be ascertained immediately”, Shah said, after cutting short his election campaigning in Assam.
The home minister is flying back to Delhi to take stock of the situation.
“Our securitymen have lost their lives, we will not tolerate this bloodshed and a befitting reply will be given at an appropriate time”, he added.
The dead include eight from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), seven from the CRPF’s Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), six from the Special Task Force and one from the ‘Bastariya’ battalion of the CRPF,” Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
The missing jawan belongs to the CoBRA unit, he said.
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