metro india news  I chhattisgarh

In yet another major strike, security forces gunned down 17 Naxalites, including 11 women and a Maoist carrying an Rs 25 lakh reward, during an anti-insurgency operation in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Saturday.

Three of the injured security personnel belong to the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a unit of the state police, the fourth is from the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), they said. A high-ranking, dreaded Maoist, carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, is among the neutralized cadres, they said.

About 10 days ago, security forces had killed at least 30 members of the banned CPI (Maoist) in two separate encounters in the Bijapur and Kanker districts of the state's Bastar region, comprising seven districts, including Sukma. The latest gunfight broke out around 8am in the forest under the Kerlapal police station area, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Inspector General of Police of Bastar Range Sundarraj P told news agency.

The IG said personnel from the DRG and CRPF’s 159th battalion were involved in the operation launched on Friday night based on inputs about the presence of Maoists in the forests of Gogunda, Nendum and Upampalli villages in the Kerlapal police station area, he said.

After the exchange of fire stopped, bodies of 17 naxalites, including 11 women, were recovered from the encounter site, he said. He said three DRG and one CRPF personnel sustained minor injuries in the face-off. The injured jawans have been admitted to a hospital, and their condition was stated to be normal, he said.