At least two Maoists, including a woman, were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Saturday.
Several other ultras were injured in the encounter and the toll may rise. Firearms were also seized from the spot, a senior police official said.
The gunfight comes a day after eight Naxals, including six women, were killed in an encounter in Sukma’s adjoining district Bijapur.
The fresh gunbattle took place in the forest near Metagudam village in Burkapal area of Sukma district this morning, Deputy Inspector General of Police (south Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.
“So far, the bodies of two Naxals, including a woman, have been recovered along with 11 weapons. A search operation following the encounter was still going on,” he said.
Separate teams of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), the Special Task Force (STF) and the Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), an elite unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), were carrying out combing operations in Sukma for the last couple of days, Sundarraj said.
This morning, when a joint team of the DRG and the STF was cordoning off a forest area near Metagudam located deep inside Burkapal, an exchange of fire broke out between the squad and a group of ultras present in the area, the DIG said.
The gun-battle lasted for about two hours following which the Maoists fled into the core forest area, he said, adding according to ground reports, several other Naxals were injured in the exchange of fire but their colleagues managed to drag them away, he said.
The DIG said further details awaited.
Yesterday’s operation in Bijapur was carried out jointly by the Chhattisgarh Police, the special anti-Naxal Greyhounds unit of their Telangana counterparts and the CRPF.
It may also be recalled that 60 Maoists from insurgency-hit Abujhmarh region coming under Narayanpur Police Station jurisdiction surrendered before Bastar Range Inspector General of Police (IGP) Vivekananda Sinha and other senior police officials in Narayanpur on Thursday.
The Maoists surrendered with seven rifles.
The Maoists included 40 men and 20 women. The surrendered Maoists include two minors. They were fed up with the hollow Maoist ideology and hence decided to join the mainstream, officials informed.