Nagpur, Oct 23 (PTI) C-60 commando Kumod Atram and his colleagues had to walk through the jungles for 70 hours before a confrontation with Naxalites in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district on Monday.
While five Naxalites collectively carrying a bounty of Rs 38 lakh on their heads were killed in two encounters on October 21, Atram received two bullet injuries and is now recuperating at a private hospital here following a surgery.
"I believe in commitment to my job," he told PTI.
C-60 is a special anti-Naxal force of Gadchiroli Police. Atram, who has been serving with Gadchiroli Police for eight years, is credited with neutralizing 39 Naxalites in about ten skirmishes.
The district borders on Chhattisgarh.
C-60 commandos and personnel of the Quick Action Teams of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) took part in Monday's encounters in the forests of Koparshi in the remote Bhamragad tehsil.
"We had trekked for more than 70 hours across the tough terrain of Abujhmad when Naxalites attacked us. The firing started around 8 am. Around 10 am I was shot amid a heavy gunbattle," Atram said.
He was then flown to Nagpur in a helicopter.
Two `Divisional Committee Members' of the Maoists were among those killed in the encounters, according to police.