Out bird hunting at night, Chhattisgarh man caught in ‘shootout between Maoists, security forces'

Indian Express

2 days ago

A 21-year-old tribal man, who had gone bird hunting on the night of August 14, suffered a bullet injury in his leg after purportedly getting caught in the crossfire during a shootout between security forces and Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon district, officials said. The district had been declared Naxal-free by the Centre earlier this year.
Abhay Netam and three of his friends had gone to hunt birds in the Nelajhar jungle, under the jurisdiction of Keshkal police station, on August 14 night.
The group was carrying an airgun to shoot the birds. 'We left around 9-10 pm on a bike to hunt birds in a jungle area near our gram panchayat. We were going into the jungle, but it started raining and we decided to return. The (security) forces suddenly came and asked us to stop. But we got scared and began to hide. My group left. After one round was fired, I told the police not to fire, but they still fired at me. They then took me to hospital,' Netam told reporters.
The Kondagaon police issued a press note regarding the incident, saying the security forces, comprising District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters, had left on an anti-Naxal operation around 10.30 pm after getting information about the presence of Maoists in the Nelajhar jungle.
The Maoists opened fire at the forces, after which the forces fired back at the Maoists, forcing them to retreat, the police said. During search operations, they found two Bharmar guns, Naxal uniforms and other items. At some distance from the encounter spot, they spotted an injured Netam and rushed him to the hospital, saving his life, the police claimed.
Doctors treating Netam said he is now out of danger.
'He was brought to the district hospital at around 1 am after getting primary treatment at a Community Health Centre. When he was brought here, he was in shock and had lost a lot of blood. At around 2 am, a surgery was performed and he is now in a stable condition. The bullet pierced his pelvis and exited from the front. His pelvic bone is fractured and shattered,' Dr S Nagulan from the Kondagaon district hospital told the media.