Naxal commander gunned down in police encounter

Raipur, April 23: A Naxal commander was gunned down in an encounter between Maoists and police in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kondagaon district on Thursday.

The gun-battle took place in the restive forests near Matwal village under Mardapal police station limits when a team of district police was carrying out a search operation in the wee hours, Kondagaon SP Abhishek Meena told.

Based on inputs about the arrival of hardcore Naxal cadres in Matwal forests, the police personnel were mobilised towards the spot. [Chhattisgarh Naxal attacks: What was the motive?]

On sensing police near the village, a group of armed rebels indiscriminately fired at them following which the security personnel retaliated, the Superintendent of Police said.

However, the ultras soon fled to the dense forest on finding security personnel zeroing-in on them.

During a search of the spot, the body of a Naxal in uniform along with a pistol and four live cartridges were recovered, the SP said.

The deceased was identified as Dharmu Yadav (26), section commander of military company-6 of the outlawed CPI (Maoist).

He was active in Narayanpur and Kondagaon districts, the police officer said.

In the wake of the incident, police have stepped-up combing operations in the region to trace the attackers, he added.

PTI