Kirti Chakra for three Chhattisgarh police personnel killed in 2021 Maoist encounter

The encounter took place on April 3, 2021, at around 10.30 am in a forest located around 12 kilometres south of Tarrem police camp between Basaguda-Jagargunda in Bijapur district.

The operation was planned a day earlier by security forces comprising the District Reserve Guard (DGF), Special Task Force (SRPF), and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA)  after receiving intelligence inputs of Maoist presence in the area. Deepak Bharadwaj, Sodhi Narayan, and Shrawan Kashyap were part of the security forces. Twenty-two security personnel lost their lives in the operation.

“It was a daunting task as the operation was being carried out in tough and inaccessible terrain with a huge security vacuum area and the presence of a strong militia network of Maoists. The Maoists ambushed and fired at the police team. They made use of huge quantities of BGL (Barrel Grenade Launchers) which disoriented the security forces during the gunfight following which the Maoists fired with their automatic, semiautomatic, and country-made weapons,” said a senior officer with the Bastar police.

Bharadwaj, Narayan, and Kashyap succumbed to bullet wounds while four Naxal cadres of the People’s Liberation of Guerrilla Army (PLGA) were neutralised in the cross-firing by security forces. The Naxals had a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on them and were involved in previous attacks on police and the destruction of public property.

The ultimate sacrifice of the personnel helped police to fill the security vacuum in the area. “At present the security vacuum is addressed to a great extent after the opening of Silger, Kunded, Galgam, Nambi, Elmagunda, and Potakapalli security camps in and around the Tekulagudem area. This honour of Kirti Chakra would serve as the guiding light for thousands of our brave soldiers, who are committed for peace and development of Bastar,” said Bastar Range Inspector-General P Sunddaraj.