Naxal killed in encounter with police in Bastar

A Naxal was todaygunned down in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bastar district, police said.
The skirmish took place this morning between a joint team of security personnel and the ultras in Kandanar forest area under Darbha police station limits, Bastar Superintendent of Police Rajendra Narayan Dash told PTI.
The operation was launched last night by a composite squad of District Reserve Group (DRG) and district force based on inputs about the presence of ultrasin the foot hills of restive Chandometa village near Tulsi Dongri, he said.
Chandometais located on Chhattisgarh-Odisha border, about 55kmsfrom Darbha police station, which lies at a distance of about 370kmsfrom Raipur.

Today, when the security men were advancing to the specified location, a gun-battle broke out after a group of cadres opened fire on them, the SP said.
The encounter lasted for about an hour following which the rebels escaped.

During a search,the bodyof a male Maoist clad in 'uniform' besides a .303 rifle, its five live rounds, a SMBL (single barrel muzzle loading) rifle, couple of detonators, bags, Maoist literature and items of daily use were recovered from the spot, he said.
The identity of the killed rebel was yet to be ascertained as the security personnel were still inside the forest carrying out the operation and further details are awaited, Dash said.

With this, thetotalnumber Maoists killed in separate gun-battles in Bastar division this month has reached to 8, police said.