india

Updated: Nov 26, 2018 19:40 IST

Nine Maoists and two personnel of the state police were killed in a gun battle in Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district on Monday afternoon, officials said.

The encounter took place near Saklar village under Kistaram police station area.

“We have recovered the bodies of nine Maoists till now,” said special director general of police (anti-Naxal operations) DM Awasthi.

“A joint team of DRG (District Reserve Guard), CRPF and special task force (STF) have cordoned off the area,” Awasthi said.

The senior officer said the two DRG personnel were killed while fighting with the Maoists in their core area.

A total of 1,200 security personnel from STF, DRG, CRPF’s CoBRA and special teams from Telangana took part in ‘Operation Prahar-4’, launched on Sunday in Battalion 1 area of Naxals in Saletong,Bade Kedwal,Sakler and nearby areas.

“The District Reserve Guard (DRG) team reached Sakler this morning and an encounter started at around 9:40 am. It continued for around one and a half hours,” Awasthi said, adding that of the nine Maoists killed, two carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh.

Arms, ammunition and IEDs have been recovered, he said, adding, “We had information that Naxals threw some weapons in a pond near Sakler also. Forces tried to recover the weapons and entered the pond also. During this, Naxals again opened fire in the afternoon and two DRG jawans lost their lives”.