Police said Maoists attacked when the ITBP squad was on area domination exercise. (Representational)
Two personnel of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), including an Assistant Commandant, were killed in a Maoist attack at Narayanpur district in Chhattisgarh today.
Sundarraj P, Inspector General of Police for the Bastar range, said the attack took place around noon when a squad of ITBP's 45th battalion was on an area domination exercise.
About 600 metres from the Kademata camp of the 45th battalion, the Maoists opened fire at the ITBP squad, Mr Sundarraj said.
He added that Assistant Commandant Sudhakar Shinde, from Nanded district in Maharashtra, and Assistant Sub-Inspector Gurmukh Singh, who hailed from Raikot in Punjab, were killed in the firing.
Mr Sundarraj further said that the Maoists took away an AK-47 rifle, two bulletproof jackets and a wireless set.
The Inspector General said reinforcements have been rushed to the spot and bodies of the two ITBP personnel are being recovered.
Narayanpur, Rajnandgaon and Kondagaon are the three districts in Chhattisgarh where ITBP personnel have been deployed for anti-Maoist operations. Currently, eight battalions of the paramilitary force are deployed in the state.
The Bastar division, which comprises the districts of Bastar, Dantewada, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Sukma, Kondagaon and Kanker, has been at the centre of the government's fight against the Maoists.
Earlier this year, on April 4, 22 security personnel were killed in an ambush by Maoists at the Sukma-Bijapur border area.