A Naxalite was gunned down on Friday in a gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district.
The fighting took place on Friday afternoon at around 12.30 pm in a forest in the Gangaloor police station area where security forces were on an anti-Naxalite drive, said Bijapur Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap.
Personnel from the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite unit CoBRA were involved in the operation.
The gunfight broke out when a patrolling team of the DRG was cordoning off a forest near Hakwa village, Kashyap said.
After the firing stopped, the body of the Naxalite, identified as Arjun, a militia platoon commander in the Gangaloor area committee of the Maoists, was recovered, he said.
A firearm and a large quantity of explosive materials were seized, he said, adding that a search operation was still underway in the area.
Arjun was allegedly involved in recent civilian killings in Gangaloor, Mirtur and Bhairamgarh areas of Bijapur, the officer said.
Reinforcements have been sent to the nearby forests to trace the Maoists who escaped after the gun battle, Kashyap added.