Two Maoists were killed during an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Thursday morning, police officials said.
The gunfight erupted in a forest area along the Indravati River when a joint team of security forces was conducting an anti-Naxalite operation. The exchange of fire lasted for several hours before subsiding, police added.
Following the encounter, security personnel recovered the bodies of two uniformed Maoists from the spot.
Weapons seized from the site included a self-loading rifle (SLR), an INSAS rifle, and a 12-bore firearm.
Earlier on January 3, security forces had neutralised 14 Maoists in two separate encounters in the Bastar region.
Police data shows that 285 Maoists were killed in encounters with security forces in the state last year.
The Centre has set March 31 as the deadline to eliminate Left-Wing Extremism from the country, intensifying ongoing counter-insurgency operations in affected regions.
(With inputs from PTI)