Three Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Sunday morning, a senior police official said.
The face-off took place around 8 am on a hill between Bhomra-Hurtarai villages under the Koyalibeda police station area, where a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Naxalite operation, Kanker Superintendent of Police Indira Kalyan Elesela said.
The security forces had received inputs about the presence of cadres belonging to company no. 5 of Maoists in Bhomra, Hurtarai and Michchebeda villages, he said.
A joint squad of the District Reserve Guard and 30th battalion of the Border Security Force was dispatched to the area on Saturday night, the official said.
A gunfight broke out, and Naxalites fled the scene after a brief exchange of fire, he said.
Bodies of three Maoists were recovered from the site along with some muzzle-loading guns, he said.
A few items of daily use and Maoist-related materials were also seized, the official said.
The identity of the deceased Naxalites was yet to be ascertained, he added.
In another incident in the state, a head constable of the Chhattisgarh Armed Force was on Sunday killed after a pressure improvised explosive device planted by the Maoists went off in Bijapur district, the police said.
The incident occurred at around 3.30 pm near Bechapal Padampara village under Mirture Mirtur police station limits in the Naxal-hit district when a team of CAF was out on an area domination operation, an official said.
The operation was launched from Bechapal police camp towards Kutulpara village, he said.
When the patrolling team was advancing through the area near the camp, Head Constable Ram Ashish Yadav, belonging to CAF's 19th Battalion, inadvertently stepped over a pressure IED connection triggering the blast, resulting in his death, he said.
The body of the martyred personnel was shifted to Mirtur, the official said, adding that a search operation was underway in Mirtur area.
