Chhattisgarh: Security forces gun down Naxal

A naxal was on Tuesday gunned down in an exchange of fire with security forces in a dense forest in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Sukma district, police said.

The skirmish took place in the forests of Duled village under Chintalnar police station limits, a senior police official said. 

A joint team of CoBRA (commando battalion for resolute action) 201st battalion - a CRPF specialised unit, and local police had launched the counter-insurgency operation in the jungles of Chintalnar, around 500 kms away from here, he said.

While security forces were cordoning off the forests near Duled, they came under heavy fire from a group of armed naxals leading to the exchange of fire, he said.

After the firing stopped, the security forces recovered the body of a Maoist along with one muzzle-loading gun, the official said adding that further details are awaited.

Security forces have intensified patrolling in the interior forests of Bastar division that comprises seven districts, in view of People's Liberation Guerrilla Army (PLGA- military wing of the Maoists) week being observed by the ultras between December 2 and 8, during which the rebels step up their activities.