RAIPUR: The security forces gunned down two women fighters of the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in a gun battle in an edgy district of Dantewada, about 450 km south of Raipur, on Saturday morning.
"On a tip-off a team of Dantewada district reserve guards (DRG) was out on search operation. When the forces arrived close to the forested terrain of Gonderas near Aranpur, the rebels opened fire resulting into an exchange of fire. The forces later recovered two female bodies of the banned outfit from the encounter site," said Dantewada SP Abhishek Pallava.
The bodies were identified as Hidme Kohrame, Mallanger Area Committee member of Darbha division and Pojje, head of the outfit's cultural troupe Chetna Natya Mandli in Nilawaya of Mallanger Area Committee.
Kohrame and Pojje carried the reward of Rs 5 lakh and one lakh respectively on their heads. The SP said that the forces also recovered three locally-made rifles, ammunition, explosives and items of daily use from the spot and the search operation in the region has been intensified.
Dantewada is among the seven Maoist-affected districts in the conflict zone of Bastar, south Chhattisgarh.