An unmanned aerial vehicle, deployed for the first time during an encounter, sent thermal images identifying the exaction location of a Maoist gathering in a dense forest in Chhatt-isgarh’s Narayanpur district on Friday evening. It also helped security forces avoid a Naxal trap, a senior police officer said on Saturday.
The deployment of the UAV during the encounter at Kalemath, in insurgency-hit Narayanpur district’s Marona forest, helped the security personnel taking on Left-wing guerrillas at the time gain an upper hand in the battle. A major tragedy was also averted after UAV inputs alerted the forces about a Maoist trap on their way back to their camps.
A senior police officer said on condition of anonymity that the UAV sent thermal images of the area, helping the officers commanding the operation to tip-off the forces. The images sent by the UAV also indicated that other Maoists were laying a trap for the forces who were returning to their camps after the operation.
“Acting on a tip-off about the presence of large number of Naxals at a site in the jungle, a joint search party of CRPF and district force (DF) personnel was dispatched to the area. The UAV deployed in the area to assist the forces in the operation had identified the exact location of the Naxal gathering. Following this, the forces surrounded the area and fought a half-hour gun battle with the Naxals. The rebels fled. The forces recovered the body of a Naxal and some arms from the encounter site,” Narayanpur district sub-divisional officer of police Dev Narayan Patel told this newspaper.
Local tribals identified the body as that of the deputy commander of the Daula Dalam active in the area, he added.