Odisha woman Maoist killed in gunfight with security forces

A woman Maoist leader was killed on Friday in an exchange of fire between security personnel and the Naxalites in Odisha's Kalahandi district, police said.

Acting on a tip-off, a team of Special Operation Group personnel launched a combing operation in Pangabaju reserve forest in the Madanpur-Rampur police station limits, Kalahandi SP Saravana Vivek said.

Maoists fired at the security personnel, who then retaliated killing the rebel on the spot and the rest managed to flee the scene, he said.

The SOG personnel have recovered ammunition and Maoist articles from the spot, the SP said.