A Maoist rebel was killed in a gun-battle with security forces in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh on Thursday, police said.
The skirmish took place around 7.30 am in a forest near the Gampur village under the Kirandul police station area, when a joint team of the security forces was out on a counter-insurgency operation, inspector general of police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.
Personnel belonging to District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Special Task Force (STF) were involved in the operation, he said.
"When the patrolling team was cordoning off the Gampur forest, located around 450 km from the capital Raipur, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides," he said.
After the gun-battle, the body of a male Maoist rebel was recovered from the spot along with a few muzzle loading guns and explosive material, he said.
Further details are awaited as the search operation is still underway in the area, he added.