Bijapur encounter: Bodies of 6 more Naxalites found; toll rises to 18
Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Six more bodies of Naxalites have been recovered following an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, taking the toll of cadres killed in the gun battle to 18, officials said on Thursday.
Three personnel of the District Reserve Guard, a unit of the state police, were also killed in the gunfight which took place on Wednesday.
Following a prolonged intermittent exchange of fire that lasted for around 12 hours, bodies of 12 Naxalites were recovered till late Wednesday evening, Inspector General of Police Sundarraj P said.
Six more bodies were found till Thursday morning during a search in the area. With this, the toll of Naxalites killed in the encounter has gone up to 18, he said, adding that the search operation was still underway in the area.
The operation involving personnel of the DRG from Dantewada and Bijapur, and Special Task Force, both units of the state police, and CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action- an elite unit of CRPF) was launched based on inputs about the presence of west Bastar division and PLGA company no. 2 of Maoists in the area, he said.
"Our security forces bravely retaliated to the Maoists' firing, but unfortunately, our three brave jawans belonging to DRG Bijapur were martyred in the action," he said.
ALSO READ: 7 Naxals, 2 DRG cops killed in encounter in Bijapur; Maoists toll at 270 so far this year
The IG was speaking to reporters after paying homage to the three deceased security personnel at Bijapur Police Lines.
Family members of the three killed jawans, public representatives, officials and local people were also present at the wreath-laying ceremony and paid tribute to them.
The deceased personnel -- head constable Monu Vadadi, constable Dukaru Gonde and jawan Ramesh Sodhi -- were residents of Bijapur district. Their mortal remains were sent to their native places after the people paid tributes to them.
Two DRG personnel were also injured in the incident.
One of the killed Naxalites has been identified as Modiyami Vella, while the identity of the remaining killed cadres was yet to be ascertained, the IG said.
Vella was active as commander of company no. 2 of PLGA (People's Liberation Guerrilla Army) of Maoists and involved in several incidents of attacks on security forces, including the 2020 Minpa ambush (Sukma), wherein 17 security personnel lost their lives, and Tekalgudem (Bijapur) attack, in which 22 security personnel were killed in 2021, he said.
Vella carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, the official said.
A Light Machine Gun, Single Loading Rifles (SLRs), Insas rifles, .303 rifles and other arms and ammunition were recovered from the site, he said.
With the latest action by security forces, 281 Naxalites have been killed in encounters in Chhattisgarh so far this year.
Of them, 252 were eliminated in the Bastar division, comprising seven districts, including Bijapur and Dantewada, while 27 others were gunned down in Gariaband district, which falls in the Raipur division. Two Naxalites were killed in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district in Durg division.
With the latest incident, 23 security personnel have lost their lives in Maoist violence, including encounters, in the state so far this year, police said.
The Centre has set a deadline of March 31, 2026, to completely eradicate Left-Wing Extremism.
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Rupee falls 9 paise to all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade
Mumbai (PTI): Rupee depreciated 9 paise to an all-time low of 90.58 against US dollar in early trade on Monday, weighed down by uncertainty over an India-US trade deal and persistent foreign fund outflows.
Forex traders said rupee is trading with a negative bias as investors are in wait and watch mode and awaiting cues from the India-US trade deal front.
At the interbank foreign exchange market, the rupee opened at 90.53 against the US dollar, then fell further to an all-time intraday low of 90.58 against the greenback, registering a fall of 9 paise over its previous close.
On Friday, the rupee had slipped 17 paise to close at an all-time low of 90.49 against the American currency.
Meanwhile, the dollar index, which gauges the greenback's strength against a basket of six currencies, was trading 0.05 per cent lower at 98.35.
Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, was trading higher by 0.52 per cent at USD 61.44 per barrel in futures trade.
On the domestic equity market front, the 30-share benchmark index Sensex was trading 298.86 points lower at 84,968.80, while the Nifty was down 121.40 points at 25,925.55.
Foreign Institutional Investors sold equities worth Rs 1,114.22 crore on Friday, according to exchange data.
"FPIs continue to be in selling mode in equity and debt while RBI has been selling dollars to fund their long positions," said Anil Kumar Bhansali, Head of Treasury and Executive Director Finrex Treasury Advisors LLP.
