2 Naxalites killed in encounter with security personnel in Sukma

Two Naxalites, carrying a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their head, were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Sukma district on Tuesday, police said.

The gunfight took place at around 6 am in a forest between Tadmetla and Duled villages under Chintagufa police station limits when a joint team of personnel from different security forces was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, a senior police official said.

Acting on specific inputs about the presence of 10-12 armed cadres belonging to Jagargunda area committee of Maoists in forests of Tadmetla-Duled villages, security personnel from the District Reserve Guard and the Central Reserve Police Force's 223rd battalion launched the operation, he said.

When the patrolling team was cordoning off the area, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides, he said.

After guns fell silent, bodies of two Naxalites along with a 12 bore double-barrel rifle and a pistol were recovered from the spot, the official said.

The killed Naxalites were identified as militia cadres Sodhi Deva and Rava Deva, who were active in the Jagargunda area committee of Maoists and carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh each on their head, he said.

Search operation was underway in the area, he added.