Police jawan, four Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh encounter

At least four Maoists, including a woman, and a police jawan were killed in a fierce gun battle between the ultras and security personnel in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Narayanpur district on Tuesday, police said.

The skirmish took place in a forest under Chhotedongar police station limits when a joint team of security forces was on a counter-insurgency operation, Narayanpur additional superintendent of police Anil Soni told PTI.

A composite squad of District Reserve Group (DRG), Special Task Force (STF) and local police had on Monday launched the operation in core pockets of Abhujmad, considered a Maoist den, located about 350 km from Raipur, he said.

As the security men were cordoning-off the forest area, they came under heavy fire from a group of armed rebels, leading to a gun battle between the two sides.

Later, during a search, bodies of four rebels, including a woman, and some items were recovered from the spot, he said. "Head constable Bhuvneshwar Mandavi, belonging to DRG, was also martyred in the incident," Soni said. Further details are awaited as the police party is yet to reach back to its camp, he added.