Chhattisgarh: One Naxal deputy commander killed in encounter, one jawan loses life

Police here killed one Naxal deputy commander after an encounter broke out between the maoists and security forces on Tuesday.

One police jawan was also killed while another got injured in the exchange of fire, said Additional Superintendent of Police (SP) (Naxal Operations) Suraj Singh Parihar.

"We were receiving info about increased Naxal operations in the area, we had also received tip-off that they were planning to disrupt the Chitrakoot Assembly elections and planning an ambush operation in the region. We, therefore, put up cordons today and an exchange of fire happened early in the morning, we recovered a Naxalite's body, along with firearms and ammunition," Parihar told ANI.

"One of our jawans received minor injuries in the operations, while another got a heart attack during it. Leading to his death," Parihar added.

The killed Naxal was later identified as Deva Kawasi, deputy commander of a platoon, Parihar added that going by the marks from the spot where the body was recovered, there may be more Naxals who were injured in the firing.

"Deva Kawasi, deputy commander of platoon number 26 was involved in many activities in the past and carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head. We are in the process of bringing out his full record as it could mean a major achievement for us. There were also many marks of blood on the spot where the Naxals body was recovered which suggests more Naxals were injured in the exchange of fire," Parihar said.

Apart from arms and ammunition, the police team also recovered a diary that describes the training module and the modus operandi of the Naxals.

"We have also recovered documents related to training methodology of conducting guerilla warfare and ambush operations used by the Naxals. This will be of great use to us in planning operations against them in the future," Parihar said.