Forces, Naxals exchange fire; laptop seized from hideout

Security forces have seized some electronic items, including a laptop and a mobile phone, from a Maoist transit hideout in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Narayanpur district after an exchange of fire with the cadres, police said today. The face-off took place between village Irdvaya and Bhattebeda under Orcha police limits yesterday, Narayanpur Additional Superintendent of Police O P Sharma said. A joint squad of District Force (DF), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and Special Task Force (STF) was carrying out a search operation in Orchha region of Abhujmad, located around 350 km from the state capital. Sensing that security personnel have landed near the Irdavaya forests, rebels opened indiscriminate firing on them following which security forces retaliated, the ASP said.