Naxal killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bastar; weapon seized

A Naxal was killed in a gun battle with security forces at a forest in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar district, police said on Thursday.

The gunfight took place on Wednesday night in the forest near Elanganar village under Darbha police station limits, over 300 km from Raipur, when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P told PTI.

On June 18, a woman Naxal was gunned down in an encounter between security forces and ultras in Chandameta area of Bastar. Some other ultras had sustained injuries in the face-off, but they managed to escape from the spot and since then, security forces were trying to locate them in the forest, he said.

After receiving inputs about the movement of ultras from Kanger Ghati (Bastar) to Katekalyan area (Dantewada) to shift their injured cadres, the DRG team launched the operation on Wednesday, he said. Following the exchange of fire, the body of a male Naxal along and one .303 rifle were recovered from the spot, he said.

Bastar Superintendent of Police Dipak Kumar Jha identified the cadre as Madvi Joga, the section commander of platoon no. 26 in the Maoists' Katekalyan Area Committee. Joga was carrying a reward of Rs 3 lakh on his head, Jha added.