11 Naxals held in Chhattisgarh

Eleven suspected Naxals, including six women, were apprehended by security forces from the jungles of Balrampur district in Chhattisgarh early on Saturday.

Officials said a joint squad of paramilitary CRPF and state police apprehended the Naxals during a combing operation in Lahsunpath forest of Kushmi area in Sarguja division of the state.

"Eleven Naxals including six women have been handed over to the local police after they were held from the jungles," they said.

"One .315 bore gun, a pistol and two detonators along with some other explosive material have been seized from the squad," they said.

The suspected ultras are being interrogated, they said.

The Sarjuga-Ambikapur belt in northern part of Chhattisgarh is not an active Naxal hotbed compared to the southern parts of Bastar and this is after a longtime that Maoists have been apprehended in these areas, they said.