Four police personnel, including two Special Police Officers and over 20 naxalites were killed in two different encounters in Gadchiroli district on Thursday, police said.
“At around 7.30 a.m. on Thursday in Nalgonda jungle, four C60 search parties were ambushed by naxalites. The ambush and exchange of fire went on for more than 1 hour and 15 minutes. One police constable was killed and two were injured,” Rahul Sheth, Gadchiroli Additional Superintendent of Police, Operations, told The Hindu .
“Naik police constable Chinna Gilla Venta (30) was killed in the naxal attack,” police said.
Mr. Sheth said the injured police personnel were evacuated by a helicopter. “They were taken to the hospital in Gadchiroli. The injuries were minor,” he said.
He said 12-14 naxals were killed. “When our police parties chased the naxals, they ran away and left behind two bodies. An AK-47 magazine was found on one of the bodies, indicating that the deceased was a senior commander.”
In the other encounter, Mr. Sheth said two C60 teams which had gone for a search operation from Tadgao post in Gadchiroli were attacked by naxalites.
“At around 9.15 a.m., they discovered an IED [Improvised Explosive Device] on the Tadgao-Bhamragad road. When they proceeded to the Bejur hillock to conduct a search operation, the naxals sitting in ambush attacked them. We lost two Special Police Officers and one constable in that attack which continued for around two hours,” he said.
“Around eight to 10 naxals were killed. But their colleagues took away their bodies with them,” he added.
The police did not recover any weapon as “the naxals ran away with all their weapons.”
Police personnel killed in the second encounter were: constable Munsi Chukku Pungati, Special Police Officers Sudhakar Munsi Mattavi and Surendra Arjun Kothare.
