Six Maoists killed in gun battle with India's police

BHAGALPUR, INDIA: At least six Maoists were killed and one arrested on Saturday in a gun battle with police in India's eastern state of Bihar, officials said.

About 30 to 35 militants who gathered for a meeting in a village opened fire on a joint team of police and paramilitary forces after they started a combing operation. The encounter lasted for several hours, The Times of India reported.

Police recovered the bodies of six Maoists and said that the militants were planning an operation against government establishments.

A militant was arrested, while the others managed to escape. Police recovered from the site two self-loading rifles, one police rifle, 250 live cartridges and a carbine besides incriminating documents.

The Maoists have called for a two-day protest in the Bhagalpur division against the killing of their six comrades, the newspaper reported.

More than 1,170 rebels, troops and civilians have been killed in insurgency-related incidents in 2010. The Maoists are fighting for the rights of tribal, landless and poor people in the country's poorest regions.

(BNO NEWS )