Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag pay tribute to jawans martyred in Chhattisgarh Maoist attack

Condoling the death of 22 CRPF jawans in an encounter with Maoists in Chhatisgarh, Team India captain Virat Kohli paid his tributes to the brave soldiers on Sunday evening. Taking to Twitter, Kohli expressed grief at the loss of lives and paid his condolences to the bereaved families. Former India cricketer Virender Sehwag also paid his respects to the martyred jawans and remarked that the country is 'indebted' to the brave hearts for their sacrifice. 

Search ops ongoing: Amit Shah

The deadly encounter between security personnel and Maoists took place on Saturday in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district. Early on Sunday morning, local Chhattisgarh police informed that around 15 security personnel were missing and 30 jawans had sustained injuries following the strike. As per sources, 23 injured jawans have been admitted to Bijapur hospital and 7 have been admitted to Raipur hospital and are undergoing treatment. Home Minister Amit Shah has said that the total number of casualties is yet to be ascertained, adding that the search operations are ongoing, as per PTI.

Cutting short his campaign in Assam, Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel returned to his state to take stock of the situation. The Chief Minister held a detailed discussion with Union Home Minister Amit Shah on the matter, who has also curtailed his campaigning for the assembly polls and returned to the national capital. The Home Minister has assured all possible help to Baghel and asserted that the forces will come out victorious in the battle against Maoists. The Indian Air Force on Saturday deployed Mi-17 helicopters to help the paramilitary forces in rescue operations in Sukma. Three jawans of the District Reserve Guard were airlifted to Raipur for treatment from Sukma. 

According to the initial reports, the encounter lasted for over 3 hours and severe damage was inflicted on the Maoists as well. An emergency meeting of DGP DM Awasthi, Special DG (Anti-Naxal Operations) Ashoke Juneja and other officers was held in Raipur. The security forces consisting of DRG, CRPF, STF and Cobra commandos were deployed in an anti-Maoist operation on April 2. 760 personnel from Tarrem, 200 from Usur, 195 from Pamed, 483 from Sukma's Minpa and 420 personnel from Narsapur were involved in the anti-terror operation.