Four Maoists killed in gun battle in Madhya Pradesh’s Balaghat area: Police

Police recovered an INSAS (Indian small arms system) rifle, a SLR (self-loading rifle) rifle and a 3o3 rifle from their possession

Bhopal/Jabalpur: At least four suspected Maoists, including three women, were killed in a gun battle with the security forces in Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh, a senior police officer said.

(Representational image)

Police recovered an INSAS (Indian small arms system) rifle, a SLR (self-loading rifle) rifle and a 3o3 rifle from their possession.

“Acting on tip off movement of Maoist near the Raunda Forest camp of Soopkhar forest area, more than 12 teams of Hawk force, Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and district police force conducted a search operation,” Balaghat additional superintendent of police Vijay Dabar said.

Dabar added that when the Maoist opened fire, the force retaliated. “After the gunfight, the force searched the forest and found four bodies. The search operation is going on,” he said.

In the past five years, 20 suspected Maoists were killed in separate encounters in Madhya Pradesh.