Raipur: A soldier sustained injuries when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) exploded, striking his leg during an intense operation against Maoists on the Karregutta Hills area of Bijapur district in Chhattisgarh.
The explosion caused significant damage, but his fellow soldiers acted swiftly, evacuating him from the danger zone and transporting him to the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) camp for immediate medical attention, police officials said.
This region has become a battleground, with security forces and Maoists locked in a fierce encounter at Karregetta hills on the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border.
Six Maoists were reportedly killed in the ongoing intermittent firing. Among them, the police have recovered the bodies of three female Maoists, along with a significant cache of weapons.
The operation spans a vast and challenging terrain, with security forces navigating dense jungles and rugged mountains for the past three to four days, the officials said.
The soldier was injured while advancing to encircle the Maoists, who have heavily fortified the area with IEDs as a defensive measure.
Launched on Monday, the joint operation of security forces is one of the largest in recent times, involving 10,000 security personnel who have surrounded the Maoists on the borders of Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.
As the forces push deeper into the Maoists’ stronghold, encounters continue unabated. Soldiers are proceeding, expecting to either eliminate some hardcore Maoists or bring them to justice. These Maoists included Madvi Hidma, who carries a reward of Rs one crore on his head, Damodar, Bandi Prakash, Azad, Chandranaje, Sujata, Kattaram Chandra Reddy, Vikalp, Vijjo, Urmila, Ganga, Mangdoo, Abhay – all Central Committee members and Paparao Dandkaranya Central Committee members.
Amid mounting pressure, the Maoists have issued yet another press note, their third in recent weeks, appealing for peace talks.
Directed by their top leadership, the note calls for an immediate halt to the ongoing operation in which the forces are using helicopters and drones.
Rupesh, the North West Sub Zonal Bureau in-charge of the Naxalite Communist Party of India, in a letter circulated in Chhattisgarh, urged the government to engage in dialogue.
Rupesh had written that this operation must cease immediately and added that peace talks are the only viable solution to the conflict.
He claimed they are ready for negotiations and hope the government will reciprocate.
(IANS)
