New Delhi, Jan 18 (UNI) Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) on Friday busted a Maoist camp in a joint operation with Chhattisgarh Police near the Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh border after a brief encounter, an official sources confirmed here.
The 40th Battalion of ITBP along with state police had a brief encounter around 0800 hrs with the Maoists around Bhave Lachhana area near to the Tanda river.
According to the source, the Police team of ITBP and state police came under fire when the team was on the area domination. The ultras also exploded a huge improvised explosive device followed by heavy small arms fire on the security forces to deter them.
The Maoists had to retreat when they found that the police force was dominating in the encounter and fled towards the Balaghat jungle in Madhya Pradesh. The ITBP then cordoned off and the area and searched thoroughly.
The naxal camp was made of five temporary tents and ration supply, water storage tanks, a Laptop with printer have been recovered from the site and the nearby areas are also being sanitized.
A claymore mine and two pressure cooker IEDs were also recovered from the site.
“The camp was probably headed by the Tanda area Committee member of CPI(M) Jamuna and 25 to 40 ultras were working under him”, the source said.
The encounter site is surrounded by the thick jungle terrain of the states and is believed to be a transit route for naxals crossing over from Chhattisgarh to Madhya Pradesh and vice versa.
“Due to mounting pressure by the security forces, the naxals have shifted their base camps to the border areas where the terrain is difficult and have advantage of the topography while operating”, a senior official of the force said on condition of anonymity.
“Usually this is the time when the Maoists start their training sessions for the new recruits for next three months including the outdoor exercises with they conduct in the month of March- April every year to target security forces”, the officials further said.
This is the first major achievement against naxals in the area after the change of governments in both the states recently, he added.
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