Death Toll in Dantewada Gunbattle Rises to Six
Dead bodies of five more CoBRA personnel killed in a fierce gun battle with naxals in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh were recovered early Saturday.
Following this recovery, the toll in the Friday’s gun battle has now gone up to six.
Media reports said quoting sources that during combing operation in the thick forests near Singamadagu of the district, the bodies of Assistant Commandant Rakesh Chaurasia, a sub-inspector, a head constable and two constables were recovered.
Assistant Commandant of the force Manoranjan Singh was also killed in the encounter on Friday.
It may be mentioned that after receiving tip-off about a large number of naxals being present in the forests, personnel of the 201 Commando Battalion for Resolute Action Battalion along with state police and CRPF personnel had launched a major offensive against them.
During the operation which had began on Thursday morning, the force had unearthed an makeshift arms factory of the Maoists besides recovering bodies of nine Naxals killed in the encounter and seized over a dozen guns and grenades.
While the securitymen had succeeded in unearthing the arms factory, a group of CoBRA personnel combing the same location had come under sudden fire from the naxals, the reports said.
The security forces suspect the presence of over 200 Naxals in the area with the likelihood of more than two dozen Naxals being killed as drag marks were found in the forests.
The Naxals usually drag back the bodies of their men to avoid any identification.
