Mangaluru: Indian Coast Guard offshore patrol vessel (OPV) Varaha, which was commissioned on September 25, arrived at New Mangolore Port on Tuesday.

Coast Guard senior officers Raj Kamal Sinha, Laxmikant Gajibhiye and CISF officer Ashutosh Gaur were present and welcomed the Varaha.

According to a press release, the 98-meter long OPV, which is designed and built indigenously by the L&T, has advanced navigation and communication equipment, sensors and machinery.

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Bijapur (Chhattisgarh) (PTI): Two Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said.

The exchange of fire broke out in a forest along the Indravati river in the morning when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior police official said.

After guns fell silent, bodies of two Naxalites, clad in uniform, along with a Self-Loading Rifle, an Insas rifle and a 12-bore rifle were recovered from the spot, he said.

Search operation was still underway, he added.

With this action, at least 25 Maoists have been killed in separate encounters in the state so far this year.

Earlier, 14 Maoists were gunned down in two encounters on January 3 in the Bastar region, which comprises seven districts, including Bijapur.

Last year, 285 Maoists were killed in various encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh.

The Centre has set a deadline of March 31 this year to eradicate Left-Wing Extremism from the country.