The Central Reserve Police Force on Monday claimed to have killed nearly 30 Naxals in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh during the encounter in which the force lost 10 personnel including a Deputy Commandant.
"Our team on the ground in Dantewada informed the Director General A S Gill that more than 30 Naxals were killed in the encounter that took place on Friday. Though only three bodies were recovered, the rest were dragged back into the forests by the Naxals," CRPF spokesperson Ajay Chaturvedi said in New Delhi.
The official was referring to the fierce encounter between CRPF and Naxals in the thick jungles of Dantewada on Friday, which left 10 personnel including Deputy Commandant Diwakar Tiwari and a sub-inspector dead. The encounter also left an Assistant Commandant injured besides 10 others including a constable who is in critical condition.
The official said the teams made the assessment on the naxals killed based on what the personnel saw during the operation and the drag marks in the forests. The CRPF, countering the brute naxal force, has lost 16 personnel in the last one week.