Special task force jawan injured in gun-battle with Naxals in Chhattisgarh, dies

Raipur: A Special Task Force (STF) jawan, who was critically injured late on Sunday evening in an encounter with Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district, died on Monday, police said.

“Constable Salabh Upadhyay died in the wee hours while he was being air-lifted from Basaguda for treatment,” Deputy Inspector General of Police (Dantewada region) Sundarraj P told PTI.

Upadhyay had sustained bullet injuries on his head in the gun-battle between a joint team of security forces and ultras which took place in a restive forest pocket of Bijapur’s Basaguda police station area late last evening, he said. [caption id=“attachment_3445414” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] The chopper was sent early on Sunday and while the jawan was being retrieved, he succumbed to his injuries, he added. The deceased was a native of Bhadohi district in Uttar Pradesh. Joint teams of Special Task Force (STF), District Reserve Guard (DRG), CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and district police were out on an operation based on inputs about the location of Maoist hideouts in Basaguda and Awapalli police area of Bijapur since Saturday (13 May). The counter–insurgency operations are still underway in the region, the DIG added. On Sunday, two policemen were injured in a gun battle with naxals in the same Basaguda area. They were airlifted to Raipur where they have been admitted in a private hospital.