Bodies of seven hardcore Maoists, two men and five women, were recovered after an intense gun battle between the insurgents and security forces in a forested patch of Rajnandgaon district bordering Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh, Director General of Police (DGP) DM Awasthi said.
A jawan of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was also injured in the gun battle, he added.
The exchange of fire took place around 7.00 am in the forest near Sitagota-Serpar villages under the Baghnadi police station area when a joint team of DRG and local police was out on a counter-insurgency operation, the DGP told reporters.
Acting on a specific input about the movement of ultras, security forces launched the operation on Friday night in Baghnadi area along the Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra border, he said.
"When the patrolling team was advancing through the forest of Sitagota-Serpar, located around 150 kms away from capital Raipur, a group of armed Naxals opened indiscriminate fire on them, leading to the gun battle," he said.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is on a tour of New Delhi, hailed the security forces for bravely carrying out a successful operation, an official statement said.
The encounter lasted for around two hours, following which the ultras disappeared into a dense forest, the DGP said.
"During the search, bodies of seven ultras, including five women, were recovered from the spot," he said. One AK-47 rifle, one.303 rifle, a 12 bore gun, one sten gun, one 315 bore rifle and a huge cache of muzzle-loading guns were also seized from the encounter spot, he said.
"A DRG jawan, identified as Asaram, sustained splinter injuries in the gunfight," the DGP said, adding he was admitted to a local hospital where his condition was said to be out of danger.