17 Policemen Killed In Encounter With Maoists In Chhattisgarh

NAGPUR, Maharashtra: Seventeen personnel were killed and many others injured in an encounter between the Maoists and the police in Sukma district of south Chhattisgarh, police said on Sunday.

The encounter took place on Saturday afternoon near Elmaguda village of Sukma district.

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Initial reports said 15 policemen had been injured in the encounter and airlifted to Raipur for treatment on Saturday evening, out of which two are reported to be in critical condition.

But 17 policemen, who belonged to the STF and DRG unit of Chhattisgarh police, were missing after the encounter.

The dead bodies of all 17 policemen were recovered on Sunday after a search operation in the area, police said.

Fifteen weapons were lost during the encounter including a UBGL and eleven AK-47 rifles.

According to some officials involved in anti-Maoist operations in Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, policemen posted in Burkapal and Chintagufa police camps in Sukma were part of this police team along with some members of Andhra Pradesh’s elite anti-Naxal unit Grayhounds, which was ambushed by the Maoists at around 2.30 pm on Saturday.