In a written reply to a question raised by Congress MLA Deepak Baij, state Panchayat Minister Ajay Chandrakar, who is in-charge of the Home department, said, "543 encounters took place between police and Naxalites from 2013 till January 2016 in the Maoist-affected districts of Chhattisgarh."
128 Naxals were killed while 100 security personnel also lost their lives in the gun battles. Besides, 210 security personnel and eight Naxals were injured in the exchanges of gunfire, he said.
A maximum of 52 Naxalswere gunned down in Bijapur, where 14 security personnel also lost their lives during this period. Also, 48 policemen and 29 Naxals were killed in Sukma district, the minister said.
Chhattisgarh has been battling the Naxal menace for over three decades to tackle which central armed police forces, including CRPF, BSF, ITBP and SSB, have been deployed in the state.