Chhattisgarh: Naxal killed in gun-battle with security forces

A Naxal was gunned down in an encounter with security forces on Friday in the insurgency-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh, police said. The skirmish took place in the morning in the forest of Metapal village under Gangaloor police station when a joint team of security forces was out on a counter-insurgency operation, Bijapur Superintendent of Police K L Dhruv told PTI.

"A composite squad of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and District Reserve Group (DRG) had launched the operation in the interiors of Gangaloor, around 450 kms away from the state capital," he said.

When the party was advancing through Metapal forest, they came under heavy fire from Maoists that led to a gun-battle between both the sides, the SP said. However, the ultras soon fled from the spot.

During the search conducted later, body of a rebel and a 12-bore gun were recovered from the spot, the SP said adding that the identity of the deceased Maoist was being ascertained. On Thursday, two coammnder-rank ultras, one of them carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, were killed in a gun-battle with security forces in Bijapur.