The exchange of fire broke out in the early hours when a joint team conducting a search operation came face to face with the Maoists. Officials said the gun battle lasted for a brief period before the extremists retreated into the dense terrain.
Two security personnel were seriously injured on Sunday when an improvised explosive device (IED) detonated during a joint counter-insurgency operation in the dense Karregutta forests along the Bijapur–Dantewada border.
Jitendra Yadav, Bijapur superintendent of police, said that fresh exchanges of fire on Sunday led to the recovery of two more bodies of uniformed Maoists, along with an INSAS rifle and a .303 rifle.
A significant cache of weapons, including INSAS and SLR rifles, explosives, and daily-use items, was also seized.
However, official confirmation of their identity is awaited. Automatic weapons were recovered from the slain militants, further underscoring the intensity of the battle, sources said.
The recruits will be given formal education up to Class 10 and will be confirmed in the service only after acquiring the qualification of Class 10 pass.
The message has been delivered three days after the deadly attack on security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district in which 22 personnel were killed and more than 30 wounded.
The gunbattle that took place on Saturday is said to be the biggest Maoist attack this year.
It is suspected by the CRPF officials on the ground that the personnel may have been killed by the Maoists during the Saturday encounter.
Expressing condolence over the death of security personnel in the operation, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said that "fight against enemies of peace will continue".
