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11 Maoists, 6 CRPF jawans killed in Chhattisgarh gunbattles

HYDERABAD: Six CRPF jawans and 11 Maoists were killed in gun battles between security forces and extremists at two places in the Bastar forests of Chhattisgarh on Monday.

The security forces suspect that there could be more casualties on the other side, the Chhattisgarh police said.

There was intermittent firing at Phulari in Bijapur district and additional forces were despatched to fight the extremists, the police said.

“So far, bodies of eight Maoists have been recovered. Our forces could see three more bodies.

But we are unable to go near them as there is heavy firing from the other side,” Giridhari Nayak, Inspector-General of Chhattisgarh, who is monitoring the operations, told The Hindu over telephone from Raipur.

According to Mr. Nayak, the operations began around 2 p.m. at Korampada and at Phulari in Bijapur district at 4 p.m. following intelligence inputs there was a large gathering of Maoists.

While the CRPF led the Korampada assault, the Special Task Force (STF) of Chhattisgarh led the attack in Phulari.

At Korampada, Mr. Nayak said, rebels detonated landmines and opened machinegun fire on the security forces, which retaliated and killed three Maoists, while losing six jawans.

At Phulari, the STF came under attack through landmine blasts and automatic gunfire.

The STF retaliated and shot dead five rebels. As the firing continued, the STF personnel found three more bodies of rebels.

“But our forces could not recover the bodies as the Maoists fired volleys of shots by taking positions behind the bodies.”

Mr. Nayak said there were bound to be more casualties on the rebel side. “Maoists take away the bodies of their slain comrades while fleeing. We will pursue them,” he added.

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