Police recovered bullet-riddled bodies of 20 jawans in the jungles of Chattisgarh on Sunday, raising the number of security personnel killed in a fierce gunbattle with Naxals to 22 -- the biggest massacre in more than a year.
The dead include eight from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), seven from the CRPF's Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), six from the Special Task Force and one from the 'Bastariya' battalion of the CRPF," Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.
Following is the list of the personnel killed in the Bijapur ambush in Chhattisgarh:
District Reserve Guard (DRG)
1. Deepak Bhardwaj, Sub-Inspector
2. Ramesh Kumar Zurri, Head Constable
3. Narayan Sodhi, Head Constable
4. Ramesh Korsa, Constable.
5.Subhash Naik, Constable.
6. Kishor Andrik, Assistant Constable.
7. Sankuram Sodhi, Assistant Constable.
8. Bhosaram Kartami, Assistant Constable.
STF
9. Shravan Kashyap, Head Constable.
10. Ramdas Korrram, Constable.
11. Jagatram Kanwar, Constable
12. Sukhsingh Faras, Constable
13. Ramashankar Paikra, Constable
14. Shankarnath, Constable.
CoBRA (210 battalion)
15. Dilip Kumar Das, Inspector
16. Raj Kumar Yadav, Head Constable
17. Shambhurai, Constable
18. Dharmdev Kumar, Constable
19. S M Krishna, Constable
20. R Jagdish, Constable
21. Bablu Rabha, Constable
Bastariya Battalion
22. Samaiyaa Maravi, Constable
Befitting reply will be given to Chhattisgarh Naxal attack, says Union Home Minister Amit Shah
Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said a befitting response will be given to those responsible for the Naxal attack in Chhatisgarh at an appropriate time. He also said search operations are continuing in Chhattisgarh following the encounter.
''As far as the numbers are concerned, both sides have suffered losses and exact casualty figures cannot be ascertained immediately'', Shah said. ''Our securitymen have lost their lives, we will not tolerate this bloodshed and a befitting reply will be given at an appropriate time'', he added.
Meanwhile, Shah on Sudnay held a high-level meeting to review the security situation in Chhattisgarh, officials said. Earlier, Shah cut short his electioneering in Assam and returned to Delhi following the incident.
(With PTI inputs)