Security personnel have reportedly gunned down about two dozen Naxalites in a major operation launched against the rebels in the insurgency-hit Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.
An assistant commandant of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF)'s elite Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) was also killed while four jawans were injured during the operation.
"So far, 10 bodies have been found while search operation was going on in the area," Additional Director General of Police Girdhari Nayak said. The toll of rebels' casualty could also go up as the operation was no yet over, he added.
About 600 personnel from the elite force and state police on Thursday evening raided a Naxal camp in a well-planned operation based on a specific tip off. The security personnel had inputs that Naxalites were running a camp near Palachalam on the Chhattisgarh-Andhra Pradesh border—about 600 km from the state capital. The security personnel cordoned off the area and attacked the camp. The rebels retaliated and entered into a gun-battle that continued through out the night. The jawans stormed into the camp and destroyed it.
Nayak said the rebels operated an arms factory in the camp which was destroyed. The security personnel had also recovered arms and ammunition from the spot. Sources said the area was tucked away in inaccessible terrains and had been a safe hideout of the Naxalites. This was the first operation of the elite CoBRA force against the rebels in Chhattisgarh.
The assistant commandant of the elite force killed in the operation had been identified as Manoranjan Singh, a resident of Manipur state. Sources said the four injured jawans were evacuated from the spot in a helicopter that was also pressed into the service.
The security personnel have launched a massive search operation in the area to trace the five missing jawans. Sources said that there was no information about them till Friday evening.
