RAIPUR: Three Maoists including two women were killed in a gunfight with the security forces at Aundhi in the Maoist-affected Rajnandgaon district on Sunday.
The encounter took place at remote forested hilly terrain of Pendauri about 150 km west of Raipur.
“We had definite inputs about the presence of Maoists in the area. The district police team led by the Aundhi police station in-charge Ashwin Rathore began search operation around noon when the rebels opened an attack on the troopers, resulting in an encounter,” the Rajnandgaon superintendent of police Prashant Agrawal told the New Indian Express.
We have recovered bodies of three Maoists and the forces have safely returned, he added.
Three weapons- one Self Loading Rifle (SLR), one INSAS assault rifle and a 303 rifle were recovered from the encounter site.
“One of the women killed was Sameela, a local area committee secretary who was active in the region for over a decade and carried an award of ` 8 lakh and another Rammo, an LOS member with a reward of Rs 1 lakh. We are yet to ascertain the identity of the third person”, Agrawal said.
Rajnandgaon, adjoining Maharashtra border is among the 16 Maoist-affected districts of Chhattisgarh.