Woman among two Naxals killed in Chhattisgarh encounters

Two Naxals, including a woman, were gunned down in separate encounters with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Thursday, an official said.

While the first gun-battle took place at around 8 am in a forest near Singanmadgu village, the second one occurred at a nearby jungle at about 1.30 pm when teams of security forces were out on a counter-insurgency operation in the southern part of the district, Sukma Superintendent of Police Shalabh Sinha said.

Acting on inputs about the presence of ultras in Chintagufa, Bhejji and Burkapal areas, separate teams of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), the Special Task Force (STF), the CRPF's elite unit CoBRA (Commando Battalion for Resolute Action) and local police had launched the operation, he said.

When one of the patrolling teams of the DRG was advancing through the forest area between Singanmadgu and Kedwal villages, located around 500km from the state capital Raipur, a gun-battle broke out between the two sides.

However, ultras soon disappeared into the dense forest, the official said.

During a search of the encounter spot, the body of a woman Naxal clad in uniform was recovered along with one .303 rifle, Sinha said.

Later, when another squad of the DRG and the STF was cordoning off a forest in Chhote Kedwal, near the place of the first encounter, it came under fire from a group of Maoists, he said.

In the ensuing exchange of fire, a male Naxal was killed, the SP said.

A country-made weapon, explosives and huge quantity of ration and utensils were recovered from the spot along with the body, the SP said.

"It seems the Maoists were camping at the site for the last few days and conducting training exercise," Sinha said.

The identity of the deceased ultras was yet to be ascertained, he added.