Special Director General of Police (anti-Maoist operations), DM Awasthi said that the clash took place in the forests of Pushpal village of Narayanpur. (ANI)

Following a fierce gun-battle between armed security forces and the Naxals in Chhattisgarh’s Narayanpur district, seven Naxals were gunned down. Confirming the encounter, Special Director General of Police (anti-Maoist operations), DM Awasthi said that the clash took place in the forests of Pushpal village of Narayanpur.

According to police, the counter-insurgency operation was conducted by a joint team of District Reserve Group (DRG) and district force, from Barsoor police station of neighbouring Dantewada district. Awasthi said that when the forces were cordoning off jungles of Pushpal along the border of the two districts, they came under heavy firing from a group of rebels, leading to a prolonged gunfight.

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Pushpal, which falls in restive Abhujmad area, is located around 350 km from the state capital Raipur. After the guns fell silent, security forces searched the area and recovered the bodies of seven ultras besides two Insas rifles and other weapons.

Earlier in the day, a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) jawan was injured when a pressure bomb, planted by Naxals, went off in a dense forest of Chhattisgarh’s Sukma district. Police said that while they were cordoning off a patch near Padaiguda village, the jawan inadvertently stepped on a pressure IED (improvised explosive device) laid by Maoists, triggering a blast that left him injured. The CRPF man, identified as Constable Ghanshyam, lost lower portion of a leg in the explosion.The police official has further stated that soon after getting information about the blast, reinforcement was rushed to the spot, around 388km from here, and the injured was airlifted to Bhadrachalam (Telangana), where he was given preliminary treatment. Ghanshyam was later shifted to Hyderabad for further medical care.

(With inputs from agencies)