Three Naxals including two women killed in encounter in Chhattisgarh

Three Naxals including two women cadres were killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district on Saturday morning, police said.

The skirmish took place around 8 am in the Belam Gutta hills under the Basaguda police station limits, more than 400 km from state capital Raipur, said a senior police official.

Personnel of the state police's District Reserve Guard (DRG) and `Commando Battalion for Resolute Action' (CoBRA), an elite unit of the CRPF, were out on an anti-Naxal operation in the area, he said.

Security forces had received intelligence inputs about the presence of Naxal cadres of the Madded Area Committee including senior leaders Vinod Verma, Raju Punem, Vishwanath and Guddu Telam in the Balam Nedra forest, the official said. After the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of three Naxals including two women were recovered from the spot, he said.

A cache of explosives and weapons, Naxal uniforms, literature and other items were also seized from the encounter site.

The identity of the slain Naxals is yet to be ascertained, the official said, adding that a search operation is underway in nearby areas.