Woman Naxal commander held after encounter in C'garh

The police has arrested a 20-year- old woman Naxal commander, carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh on her head, after an encounter with the ultras in Chhattisgarh's Kondagaon district, an official said today.

The cadre, identified as Bukal alias Bukali, was apprehended yesterday from a forest near Kotmeta Tumdiwal village when a team of local police was out on a search operation, Kondagaon's Additional Superintendent of Police Maheshwar Nag told PTI.

When the patrolling squad reached Kotmeta Tumdiwal, located around 300 km from the capital, a group of ultras started firing on them, leading to a gun-battle, he said.

However, the ultras soon fled the spot when the security personnel started zeroing-in on them.

But the police caught the woman Naxal after a brief chase, he said.

Bukali, active as the janmilitia commander, was allegedly involved in several Naxal-related incidents, including attacks on police teams, looting polling boxes in panchayat elections, and also robbing weapons, he added.