Three Maoists gunned down in encounter

Three Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in restive Sukma district of Chhattisgarh on Friday, police said.

The gun battle took place in the forest area located between Gattapad and Tokanpalli villages coming under Chintagufa Police Station area around 10 am, according to Sukma SP Abhishek Meena .

“A joint team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Special Task Force (STF) had launched a search operation.

When the patrolling team was cordoning off, the forest between Gattapad and Tokanpalli, the Maoists opened fire on them, he said. Security forces fired in retaliation and the gunfight continued for a while. However, Naxals soon escaped into the forest, he said.

During a search of the area, bodies of 3 ultras clad in ‘uniform’ along with 4 weapons, including a 315 bore rifle, a pistol and a muzzle-loading gun, were recovered from the spot, he said.