Chhattisgarh Police on Thursday denied an allegation by Naxalites that security forces carried out aerial strikes on the Maoists.
The reaction came after the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist) claimed that the security forces carried out the aerial strikes using a helicopter and drones in South Bastar region on Wednesday.
A press release, purportedly from the Naxalites, went viral on social media on Wednesday night following a gun battle between CoBRA commandos and Maoists in South Bastar.
The CRPF had on Wednesday said a team of its elite CoBRA commandos was descending from a helicopter in the jungles along the Sukma-Bijapur borders when Maoists fired on them, triggering a gunfight.
No commando was injured while efforts were on to gather information about casualties on the Maoist side, the CRPF said.
Meanwhile, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P on Thursday said: "We are verifying the authenticity of the press release as well as the facts mentioned in it.
"It appears to be another attempt by Naxalites to mislead the population and cover up their losing ground and shaken morale of the cadres," he said.