The security forces on Thursday gunned down three Naxalites in an encounter in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district along the Chhattisgarh-Telangana border. The naxalites were killed as part of an anti-Naxal operation launched in the Bastar region, which is being termed as the biggest counter-insurgency action in the state.
The anti-Naxal operation is currently underway and involves around 10,000 security personnel belonging to different units.
The gunfight took place at a forest in Karegutta hills in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district along the inter-state border on Thursday morning when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Naxal operation, news agency PTI reported citing a senior police official.
The bodies of three Naxalites have been recovered from the encounter site so far. However, several other Maoists are suspected to have been killed in the encounter.
The troops involved in the operation included the District Reserve Guard (DRG), Bastar Fighters, Special Task Force (STF), all units of the state police, as well as the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and its elite Commando Battalions for Resolute Action (CoBRA), PTI reported.
The Telangana police were also assisting in the anti-Naxal operation, the official said.
The operation was launched on Monday on the basis of intelligence inputs about the presence of senior cadres of battalion no. 1, which is believed to be the strongest military formation of Maoists, and the Telangana state committee of Maoists. It has already been ongoing for more than 48 hours and will last for several days, the report noted.
The area where the gunfight broke out is surrounded by the dense forests and hills is considered to be the base of Maoists' battalion no. 1.