Raipur, Apr 05: At least one Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was killed on Friday morning and another sustained injuries in an encounter with Naxals in forests in Saleghat area in Chhattisgarh's Dhamtari on Friday. According to ANI, heavy loss has been inflicted to Naxals.
The CRPF personnel are from the 211 battalion. The martyred has been identified as Harish Chandra Pal, a resident of Madhya Pradesh. The health condition of the injured, identified as Sudhir Kumar is said to be stable. He suffered a bullet injury in his left leg.
This comes a day after four Border Security Force (BSF) personnel were killed and two others injured on Thursday in an encounter with Naxals in Kanker district. Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and state Home Minister Tamradhwaj Sahu paid tribute to the four BSF personnel who lost their lives in the encounter. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh also expressed his condolences to the families of four BSF personnel who were martyred. Taking to Twitter, he said, "Deeply anguished over the loss of @BSF_India personnel during an operation against the Naxals in Kanker. They fought valiantly before laying down their lives for the nation. My deepest condolences to the families of these martyrs and prayers for the speedy recovery of the injured." Singh also said he had spoken to BSF DG Rajni Kant Mishra over the incident and informed that he will be visiting Chhattisgarh to assess the ground situation. "I have spoken to DG @BSF_India regarding the encounter in Kanker. He has apprised me of the operation. He will be leaving for Chhattisgarh to help the families of martyred BSF soldiers and also assess the ground situation," read a second tweet from Rajnath. The incident occurred after the domination patrol of 114 Battalion of BSF deployed in Pakhanjur in Kanker district was targeted by the Naxals with IEDs and fire, the BSF said in a statement. Since last few days, police have intensified anti-naxal operations in the forests falls on the tri-junction of Rajnandgaon, Balaghat (Madhya Pradesh) and Gondia (Maharashtra) in view of nexth month Lok Sabha elections. Chhattisgarh will vote in three phases on April 11, April 18 and April 23. Voting in Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund and Kanker seats will be held on April 18.