Raipur: A fierce gun battle between the Naxalites and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) broke out on Tuesday near the Bijapur-Sukma border in Chhattisgarh, resulting in the death of three CRPF personnel and injuries to 18 others. The encounter took place near Tekalgudam village, where the security forces were setting up a Forward Operating Base (FOB) to counter the Maoist activities in the region.
According to Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P, the Naxalites launched a surprise attack on the new police camp of the CRPF’s 201 battalion and the CoBRA’s 150 battalion around 1 pm. The security forces retaliated and engaged in a fierce exchange of fire with the rebels for about an hour. The injured personnel were airlifted to Raipur for treatment and are said to be out of danger.
The Tekalgudam village is located along the border of the Bijapur and Sukma districts, which are among the worst affected by the Naxalite insurgency in the country. The same area witnessed a deadly ambush by the Naxalites in April 2021, in which 22 security personnel were killed and 31 were injured. The Naxalites had also looted several weapons and ammunition from the security forces in that attack.
The Naxalites, also known as Maoists, are a group of left-wing extremists who have been waging a violent armed struggle against the Indian state for over five decades. They claim to be fighting for the rights of the poor and the oppressed, especially the tribal people, in the remote and underdeveloped regions of the country. The Indian government has declared them as the biggest internal security threat and has deployed thousands of security personnel to combat them.
