nA Naxalite commander carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head was injured in an encounter with security forces in a forest in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district after which he was detained and admitted in a hospital, police said.
The gun battle took place on Tuesday night when a joint team of security forces was on an anti-Maoist operation in Job area police outpost, Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla said.
Acting on a tip about the movement of Maoists towards Baghnadi, adjoining Maharashtra, the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and district force launched the operation, he said.
Security personnel laid an ambush on the Katenga-Pendridih road, about 150 km from Raipur. On sensing the presence of security personnel, around a dozen Naxalites opened fire, the officer said.
As the security forces retaliated strongly, the Naxalites fled into the dense forests.
During a search of the area on Wednesday morning, security forces found a Maoist bag and commodities of daily use besides blood stains, indicating that some rebels might have sustained injuries in the gunfight, Shukla said.
The District Reserve Guard (DRG) also joined the search, he said.
“Security personnel zeroed in on an injured Naxalite in Khobha village, who tried to run away but was caught after a short chase,” he said.
He was identified as David alias Umesh, a native of Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra who was active as commander of platoon no. 1 under the Maharashtra- Madhya Pradesh- Chhattisgarh zone of the Maoists, the officer said.
David, a Divisional Committee member, was also in-charge of a small team of Naxalites on the inter-state border areas, the SP said adding that he carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head.
An AK-47 rifle, three magazines, 54 live cartridges, a pistol, a walkie-talkie set, medical items and other items of daily use and Rs 772 cash were recovered from his possession.
The injured Maoist has been admitted to the Rajnandgaon District Hospital, police said.