A villager too was killed in the cross-firing between the security forces and Maoists. (Representational)
Two soldiers of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were killed and another injured in an encounter with Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district today. Two girls were caught in the cross-fire. One of them died while the other was injured, the police said.
The gunbattle took place near Keshkutul village when a joint team of the CRPF's 199th battalion and local police was out on an area domination operation, senior police officer Vivekanand Sinha said.
A reinforcement team of security forces have been sent to the area.
When the patrolling team was advancing through Keshkutul, it was ambushed by a group of armed rebels and a gunfight ensued, the officer said. "Two CRPF personnel - an assistant sub-inspector and a head constable - were killed. Another assistant sub-inspector was injured in the gunfight," Mr Sinha said.
The minor girls were travelling in a goods carrier when they were caught in the cross-fire.
In a separate operation, security forces on Friday destroyed a Maoist camp after a gunbattle in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district, close to the Maharashtra border.
The 27th battalion of the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) targeted the camp in Rajnandgaon.
(With inputs from PTI)