The gunbattle began around 9.30 a.m. at Kesamundi forest in Bijapur district, about 450 km from here, when Maoists fired at a joint combing team of the District Force (DF), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and the Special Task Force (STF), a senior official at the police headquarters here told IANS.
The official added: "Our soldiers have strongly retaliated." There were no immediate details about casualties.