A Naxalite was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Saturday, a police official said.
Arms, ammunition and Maoist-related materials were recovered from the encounter site at a forested hill, he said.
Blood stains found at the spot suggest that 3-4 Naxalites were either killed or injured in the gunfight but their colleagues managed to drag them inside the forest, the official said, adding that the search operation was underway in the area.
The gunfight took place at around 7 am at a forested hill near Kesamundi village under the Bhairamgarh police station limits when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, the senior police official said.
Acting on specific inputs about the presence of 10-15 armed Maoists of the Bhairamgarh area committee in forests of Potenar-Kesamundi villages, personnel belonging to District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters and CRPF's 222nd battalion launched the operation on Friday night, he said.
When the patrolling team was cordoning off the area this morning, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides that lasted for about half an hour, the official said.
After the fire exchange stopped, the body of a Naxalite was found at the spot. Security personnel also recovered a pistol, bullets, gelatin sticks, wires and other Maoist-related materials from the spot.
The identity of the killed Naxalite was yet to be ascertained, he added.