Maoist Death Toll in Chhattisgarh Encounter Rises to 8

Raipur: A total of eight Maoists were slain in an exchange of fire with security personnel in the Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh on Tuesday.

After the exchange of fire stopped, initially the bodies of four Naxalites along with a light machine gun and other weapons were recovered from the spot. Later on bodies of four more ultras were located at the encounter site.

Security personnel are still continuing search operations in the area.

Bijapur district comes under the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, which will go to polls on April 19.

The exchange of fire took place at around 6 am in a forest near Lendra village under the Gangaloor police station area, when a joint team of security personnel involved in an anti-Maoist operation tracked down the Maoist group.

Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force and its elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) were involved in the operation.

On March 27, six Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in the Basaguda area of Bijapur.

This year, 41 Maoists have been killed so far in separate encounters with security forces in the Bastar region that includes seven districts including Bijapur.