A jawan was injured in the encounter in Chhattisgarh. (Representational image of Naxals training)
Four Naxals, including two 'commander-rank' accused in the deadly Jiram Valley attack, were today killed in a fierce encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district. A jawan was also injured in the firing.
The encounter took place in the early morning today in the restive Dabba-Kunna hills when the joint team of CRPF, District Reserve Group and STF was out on an anti-Maoist operation, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Kamlochan Kashyap told PTI.
"While four cadres, including two Maoist commanders, were killed, a jawan was also injured in the face-off," he said.
Based on specific inputs, the operation was launched by security forces last night to flush out the ultras hiding in the forests near Dabba and Kunna villages, the Superintendent of police said.
The two villages are located on top of a hill which lies along the Dantewada and Sukma districts border, about 500 km from the state capital Raipur.
A group of armed Naxals opened indiscriminate fire at the security personnel close to Dabba village following which an encounter broke out between the two sides.
"In the face-off, four ultras, one of them a woman, who were clad in 'uniform' and armed with weapons and explosives," were killed, the Superintendent of police said.
The woman cadre was identified as Madkami Deve, commander of 26th Platoon of the outlawed CPI (Maoist). Besides, another deceased rebel Maasa was commander of Katekalyan area committee. He was wanted in connection with the Jiram valley attack in which Congress leaders were killed in 2013, Mr Kashyap said.
The identity of the two others was being ascertained.
Besides, a District Reserve Group jawan sustained injuries in the incident. He was later airlifted to Jagdalpur for treatment, he said.
27 people were killed in the Jiram Valley attack, including former state minister Mahendra Karma, the then Chhattisgarh Congress chief Nand Kumar Patel and senior party leader Vidya Charan Shukla.
During search, besides the bodies of the Maoists, at least eight weapons, including three .303, 12 bore and 315 bore rifles, 30 Naxal bags (used to carry ammunition and daily use things) and a huge cache of Naxal-related items were recovered from the spot, Mr Kashyap said.
Reinforcement was rushed to the spot and efforts are on to retrieve the bodies of cadres from the forest, he said.