Raipur: In a rare success against Maoist terrorists in Chhattisgarh, police gunned down at least six heavily armed guerrilla fighters Tuesday in Dantewada district after a prolonged gunfight.
After a gunfight that went on for over 20 hours, a joint police and paramilitary team of Dantewada and Bijapur districts shot dead six militants in a mineral-rich forested stretch in Kirandul area, some 400 km south of state capital Raipur.
"We have basically hit a Maoist camp, our heavily armed men assisted by Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) put the militants under heavy fire throughout Monday and early morning Tuesday and finally we killed six militants and recovered their arms," Amresh Mishra, district superintendent of police, Dantewada, told reporters.
He added that the police had recovered all six bodies of the deceased and teams of securitymen were checking the area in case there were more bodies.
Police have recovered arms and ammunition from the site including several country-made bombs, a hand grenade, pistols, rifles and material used for land mine blasts. The police have not sustained any casualties.
Chhattisgarh is one of the worst leftist-insurgency hit states of India where over 1,500 people have been killed in Maoist violence since the state came into existence in November 2000.
IANS
