At least 12 Naxals were killed on Wednesday in an encounter with police and commandos in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli district, near Chhattisgarh border, officials told news agency PTI.
Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Nilotpal stated that the heavy exchange of fire broke out between C60 commandos and Naxals in Wandoli village in the afternoon. It lasted for six hours.
Following the encounter, Police recovered 12 bodies of Maoists from the spot. Apart from this, seven automotive weapons, including 3 AK-47s, 2 INSAS rifles, a carbine and an SLR were also recovered, Gadchiroli SP said.
DVCM Laxman Atram alias Vishal Atram, who was the incharge of Tipagad Dalam, was one of the 12 Naxals killed today.
Maharashtra Home Minister Devendra Fadnavis has declared a Rs 51 lakh reward for C60 commando teams and Gadchiroli Police, Nilotpal told PTI.
A sub-inspector of C 60 and one jawan were injured in the ecounter. However, they are out of danger, and have been shifted to Nagpur after being evacuated from the spot, the SP added.
The security forces are currently identifying the slain Maoists. A search operation in the area is underway.
Encounter Between Security Forces, Wanted Maoist Misir Besra's Squad In Jharkhand
A fierce encounter broke out between security personnel and wanted Maoist Misir Besra's squad in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Wednesday.
The encounter took place in a forest near Dalaigada village in Chotanagra police station area, PTI reported.
Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar said that the security forces had launched a search operation in forest areas under Manoharpur and Chotanagra police stations on July 14. They acted after receiving inputs about the movement of Maoists including Misir Besra.
Besra carries a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head, SP said.
The encounter took place with his squad that was present in the vicinity during the firing, which continued till the Maoists made a hasty retreat.
The police official said that the Maoists opened fire at a police team that was approaching in Dalaigada forest, which prompted them to retaliate.
In the operation, police have recovered arms and ammunition, including an SLR, a .303 rifle, three magazines, a 9mm pistol, 34 detonators, 174 cartridges of SLR, and a laptop, among other items, PTI reported.