Naxal killed in face-off with police in Chhattisgarh

Raipur, Sep 29: A lower rung Naxal was today killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in a dense forest of Chhattisgarhs Sukma district, police said.

The skirmish took place in the morning when a joint team of security forces was out on a search operation in Konta police station area, Sukma SP Indira Kalyan Elesela said.

Acting on specific input about the presence of armed Maoists in the forests near Neelamadgu and Velpochha villages, a composite team of personnel, comprising District Reserve Group (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and local police, launched a combing operation in the region, located around 500 km from here, he said.

The security personnel were advancing into Neelamadgu village, when they came under heavy fire from a squad of the Maoists. The police retaliated, killing a Maoist while the others fled using forest as cover following an hour-long gun battle, he added.

During search, the body of a Maoist, a muzzle loading gun and several other items were recovered from the spot, Elsela said.

"The killed Maoist has been identified as Madkam Hunga, a member of Konta LOS (local organisation squad)," he said.

PTI