Top Maoist Leader Among At Least 12 Killed In Big Chhattisgarh Encounter

A top Maoist leader - Shankar Rao - was among 12 rebel fighter killed by security forces during an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district Tuesday, senior police officer Kalyan Elesela has told NDTV. The police have said they expect the number of dead Maoists to increase.

A huge quantity of weapons, including four Ak-47 assault rifles, were recovered. The Maoist leader shot dead - Rao - had a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head, NDTV has been told.

Sources said the fighting began past 1:30 PM and is between a joint op of the District Reserve Guard, which was set up in in 2008 to combat Maoist activities in the state, and the Border Security Force.

There was another encounter in the district last month, in which two people - a Maoist and a cop - were killed, and security forces recovered a gun, some explosives, and other incriminating materials.

Personnel from the DRG and Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police force, with the Border Security Force, were involved in the operation, officials told news agency PTI. The patrolling team was cordoning off a forested area when fired on indiscriminately, leading to the gun battle.

In February, three Maoists were killed in another encounter in Kanker.

In November last year, while the state was voting in the first phase of an Assembly election, a gunfight broke out between security forces and Maoist rebels in the same district.

READ | Gunfight Between Security Forces, Maoists Amid 1st Phase Of Chhattisgarh Polls

An Ak-47 rifle was recovered from the encounter site.

On the same day, while polling was taking place, Maoists fired at DRG personnel deployed near a polling station in Banda in Dantewada district.