Raipur

Two Maoists gunned down in encounter

Staff Reporter

Two Maoists including a woman, were gunned down on Friday in an encounter with security forces in a dense forest of Chhattisgarh’s restive Bijapur district, police said.

The encounter took place at around 7:30 am in Muduvandi-Kawadgaon forest axis when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Maoist operation, according to Deputy Inspector General of Police (south Bastar Range) Sundarraj P.

The operation, involving composite forces of CRPF’s elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) 204th battalion and District Reserve Guard (DRG), was launched on Thursday night in the interiors of Gangaloor, he said.

While combing operations were underway, Naxals opened fire on security forces on Friday morning. Immediately security forces took position and launched retaliatory attack that forced Naxals to flee from the spot, the DIG said.

During search, two Naxals clad in “uniform” were found dead at the spot. Besides, one .303 rifle, one 12 bore gun and one country-made pistol, were also recovered from there, the officer added.

Further details are awaited as the operation was still underway, he added.