Three CRPF jawans were killed in a gunfight with Maoists along the Sukma-Bijapur border in Chhattisgarh on Tuesday when the commandos were working to establish a forward operating base.

At least 15 CRPF personnel suffered injuries in the gun battle that began around 1pm, sources said. It was the same area where 23 jawans were killed in April 2021 in an exchange of fire with Maoists.

“The incident occurred near Tekalgudem village when a joint team of security personnel was out on a search operation,” inspector-general of police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P. said.

“The village is located along the border of Bijapur and Sukma districts. A team from the 201 battalion of the CoBRA force and the 150 battalion of the CRPF was working in the area to establish a forward operating base (FOB) when the exchange of fire began around 1pm,” a CRPF official said.

An FOB is a remote camp meant to facilitate security forces operating in core Maoist areas.

Sources said the CRPF commandos had launched an effective retaliation and helicopters were being requisitioned to evacuate the injured.

Earlier in the day, security forces had averted a major tragedy by recovering two improvised explosive devices while acting on a tip-off. The police said the bombs — one weighing 5kg and another 3kg — had been planted on dirt tracks in Dantewada district.

Union home ministry sources said a recent intelligence report had suggested that the Maoists were regrouping themselves in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra and posed a new challenge for the security agencies.

Seven districts of Chhattisgarh — Bastar, Bijapur, Narayanpur, Kanker, Sukma, Dantewada and Kondagaon — are the worst affected by Left-wing extremism.

During a recently held security review, Union home minister Amit Shah had set a three-year deadline to free Chhattisgarh from the Maoist menace.

Earlier, the Centre had claimed that demonetisation had choked the Maoists’ funds and broken their backbone.

The Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) of the CRPF is a specialised jungle warfare unit. In 2008, the Centre had raised the 10,000-strong CoBRA under the command and control of the CRPF to counter Maoists. At present, CoBRA teams are deployed in Maoist-affected regions across the country.

CoBRA is headquartered in the national capital region and has its battalion headquarters in every Maoist-hit state, including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra.