During an encounter near Chintafua and Kasalpara area in Sukma district on November 21, which saw the killing of 15 Maoists, the insurgents opened fire on a Mi-17 helicopter, which was flown in to rescue the injured COBRA men.
CRPF Inspector General (IG) H.S. Sidhu said the death of 15 was confirmed from technical and intelligence inputs received after the encounter. Twenty-five to 30 of them were grievously injured, Mr. Sidhu told The Hindu .
The IG also informed that six COBRA jawans were injured, but are in a stable condition now.
According to a source, the CRPF arrived at the number of deaths from the information they received regarding Maoist activities in the area to provide medical treatment to the injured ultras.
“The injured Maoists were taken to different locations for treatment and some doctors were also deputed to treat the injured ultras. Some images taken by the UAVs [Unmanned Aerial Vehicles] also show mass cremations going on near Kasalpara,” revealed the source requesting anonymity.
However, nobody was recovered from the area.
