By IANS,
Raipur : A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper was gunned down and his colleague injured in a gunfight Monday with Maoists in a forested area in Chhattisgarh’s restive Bastar region, police said.
The gun battle broke out near Bhejji police station, some 500 km south of capital Raipur when dozens of armed ultras opened fire on a CRPF contingent in Sukma district.
“The CRPF men strongly retaliated to the Maoists’ planned attack and we suspect that several rebels were killed during the two-hour-long gun battle. But one CRPF jawan was also killed while another received a bullet injury,” Abhishek Shandilya, Sukma police chief told IANS over phone.
The deceased CRPF man has been identified as K. Kumaran while the injured cop is Arjun Rao whom local authorities are trying to airlift to Raipur for advanced medical treatment.
Officials at police headquarters here heaped praise on the CRPF men for “determinedly fighting a large number of Maoists” but also admitted that not a single dead body of any ultra was found near the site.