KATHMANDU, April 4: As many as 22 Indian security personnel were killed, 32 injured and one was reportedly missing in a four-hour long encounter with the Maoist rebels in the forests of the eastern Chhattisgarh state of India, media reports said quoting local police.

India Today Online reported quoting Chhattisgarh Director General of Police (DGP) DM Awasthi and CRPF DG Kuldiep Singh that the dead bodies of 22 jawans have been recovered as of now.

India's Union Home Minister Amit Shah expressed condolence on the deaths of Indian security personnel in Chhattisgarh. "We will continue our fight against these enemies of peace & progress," Shah said referring to the Maoists who ambushed the jawans in Tarrem.

Among two of the jawans killed in action, one was from the CoBRA unit while the other was part of the Bastariya Battalion of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), according to media reports. The other three jawans who lost their lives in the encounter on Saturday were enlisted with the District Reserve Guard (DRG).

Although Indian security agencies estimated that over 15 Maoists were killed in the encounter, the exact figure of death casualties have yet to be ascertained, media reports said.

What happened in Chhattisgarh ?

An encounter broke out between security forces and Naxals along the Sukma-Bijapur border in Chhattisgarh on Saturday after a party of jawans was ambushed by Maoists near Jonnaguda village around noon. The forces were scattered and trapped along a two-km long stretch of forest area.

Officials confirmed that the encounter spot was barely 15 km from the Tarrem base camp of security forces.

Sources said Naxals used light-weight machine guns (LMGs) and even rocket launchers during the encounter.

The ambush was similar to the one executed by Naxals in Tadmetla in 2010 and Minapa in 2020. The Maoists PLGA Battalion was led by its commander Hidma. With a total strength of nearly 250, this group of Naxals was aided by insurgents associated with the Maoist platoons of Pamed, Konta, Jagargunda and Basaguda area committees.

A group of 60-80 armed Maoists led by Chandranna was also spotted in Bijapur shortly before the attack.

Security forces were on alert after Naxal commander Hidma was spotted in Bijapur in March of this year. Hidma carries a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head.

In fact, Hidma is also suspected to be behind the March 2017 attack in Sukma where 25 CRPF jawans were killed in action during an encounter with the Maoists. India Today Online further reported that Indian intelligence agencies had alerted authorities about the presence of Maoists along the Bijapur-Sukma border.

 
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