Chhattisgarh: SHO among 2 cops killed in Naxal ambush, 8 hurt

Two policemen, including an SHO, were killed and eight others injured when Maoists ambushed a joint patrolling squad in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district today.
The face-off between security forces and the ultras took place in the forests between Hawalbaras and Panawar villages under Bande police limits in the insurgency-hit district this evening, Additional Director General of Police (anti-Naxal operations) R K Vij told PTI.
"The SHO of Bande police station, Avinash Sharma, and assistant constable Sonu Ram Gawde were martyred while six security personnel, including BSF's assistant commandant, injured in the incident," he said.
"After administering treatment at a local hospital, the injured have been airlifted to Raipur for further treatment," the ADG said, adding two villagers also sustained minor injuries in the Naxal firing and they were admitted to a local hospital in Bande.

Based on inputs about the movement of cadres, a team of district police and Border Security Force (BSF) was mobilised towards Hawalbaras and Panawar, located around 250 km away from the state capital, on motorcycles, he said.
When they reached between the two villages, the ultras opened indiscriminate firing, which was returned by the security forces, Vij said.

The ensuing gunfight lasted for around two hours following which the rebels fled to the core forests, he added.
Sharma, a sub-inspector rank official, was a native of Sarkanda area in Bilaspur district while Gawde was a resident of Bande.
The injured personnel were identified as Vivek Rawat, assistant commandant of BSF, Vijay Kumar and Ramdhan, both constables of BSF's 122 battalion, Omkar Banjare and Narendra Shukla, both head constables, and Mineshwar Mandavi, constable of district force.

Soon after the incident, reinforcement was rushed to the spot and the injured and the bodies of martyred personnel were taken out of forests, Vij said.
Combing operations have been intensified in the region to nab the attackers, he said.