A Maoist was killed in an encounter that took place in forests of Munga village under Gangalur police station limits in insurgency-infested Bijapur district on Monday morning. The body of the killed Maoist was recovered with a .303 rifle and a pistol from the forests during the search operations, police said. According to Bijapur Superintendent of Police (SP) Kl Dhruva, a joint team of District Force and District Reserve Group (DRG) launched an anti-Naxal operation and while conducting area domination exercise and search operations in the forests of Munga, the team was attacked by a group of armed rebels.
The Security forces returned fire and shot down five rebels in the gun battle that lasted for many hours. The body of slain Maoist, Naxal literature, bullets, charger, bag, radio, toothbrush, a .303 and a 9 mm pistol were recovered from the spot. “The killed Maoist was identified as Bendaja Rakesh of Tadmendari village who was Military Commander-in-Chief and Gangalur Area Commander,” Dhruva said.