Maoist rebels fired shots at an Indian Air Force helicopter, which was scrambled to rescue some CRPF jawans injured in an earlier ambush by the rebels, in the Bastar forests falling in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Friday evening.
An IAF gunner took a bullet in his leg as Maoist rebels opened automatic fire on the helicopter. The pilot managed to bring the chopper to the nearby town of Jagdalpur safely, from where the injured jawans and the IAF gunner are being shifted to Raipur for treatment, police sources told The Hindu over phone. The injured IAF officer was identified as Mukesh Tiwari.
The dare-devil attack by Maoists came hours after the Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the rebels to shun violence and take part in the nation building exercise. Mr Modi was speaking at an election meeting in Chandua, in Maoist-dominated Latehar district of Jharkhand.
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Around 5 p.m., a CRPF team led by IG HS Sidhu was taking part in a combing operation when they came under heavy fire from the Maoist rebels in Chintagufa police station limits. The team returned fire and in the process, five constables were injured. After receiving the distress calls, an IAF chopper was scrambled to rescue the injured persons.
Source said, the injured were filing into the chopper when the Maoists unleashed the second wave of attack. One of the injured constables was stated to be critical. The operation was continuing till late in the night.