Chhattisgarh: 8 Naxals killed in Bijapur; weapons, explosives seized

Eight Naxals were killed in an encounter with the security forces in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Friday. The encounter took place in Bijapur district along the Chhattisgarh -Telangana border, officials have said.

A huge cache of arms including One Self Loading Rifle, one .303 rifle, six rocket launchers and three grenades have been recovered. It was not immediately known when the encounter took place.

The incident comes days after 39 Maoists were eliminated in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli, considered the worst Maoist-affected district in the country.

The gunfight took place in a forest near Ipenta village of the district on Friday morning, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.

A joint squad of Greyhounds -- an elite anti-Naxal unit of the Telangana Police -- and security personnel from Chhattisgarh had launched a combing operation in the forests along the inter-state border following a tip-off about presence of Maoists there, he said.

When the patrolling team was in Ipenta, located around 500km from the state capital Raipur, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides.

After the gunfight was over, security forces recovered the bodies of seven ultras, including that of women, from the encounter spot, Garg said.

In early March, a team of Greyhounds personnel had swooped on a Naxal camp in Bijapur district as part of a joint operation with the Chhattisgarh Police. Ten Maoists, including seven women, were killed in the operation