Two Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadres were killed in an encounter with security personnel during an anti-Naxal [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] operation in a forest area under the Gangaloor Police Station limits in Bijapur District of Chhattisgarh on March 23, reports ndtv.com. The operation was carried out at the tri-junction of Bijapur, Dantewada, and Sukma Districts, considered a Maoist bastion, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P said. Maoists opened fire when Security Forces (SFs) were cordoning off a forest near Pidia village, over 450 kilometres from the capital Raipur, triggering a gun battle between two sides, he said. "After guns fell silent, the bodies of two Naxalites along with weapons were recovered from the spot," the official said, adding that the identity of the two Maoists was yet to be ascertained.
Two security personnel of Bastar Fighters were injured when an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) planted by the Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) went off in a forest near Doditumnar village under the Jagargunda Police Station in Sukma District of Chhattisgarh on March 23, reports ndtv.com. The injured jawans have been identified as Vikas Kumar Karma and Rakesh Kumar Markam, both constables of Bastar Fighters-Dantewada.