In a separate exchange of fire, a woman Maoist was killed by a team of Chhattisgarh's District Reserve Group personnel in Kanker district. (File photo)
Three Maoists, including a couple, were today gunned down in a fierce encounter with security forces at different places of Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Bastar region, police said.
The Maoist couple, active in Darbha division of Maoist, was killed in the skirmish that took place at around 2:50 am between Maoists and a joint team of security forces in jungles of Gangaloor under Bijapur police station area, district Additional Superintendent of Police, Indira Kalyan Elesela, told news agency PTI.
They were identified as LOS (local organisation squad) 'commander' of Darbha 'division' Manoj Hapka and his wife Tati, a member of the same squad, the ASP said.
The operation involving composite forces of Central Reserve Police Force 85th battalion, CRPF's elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) 204th battalion with the support of Gangaloor police was launched last night.
While the forces were carrying out searching at target places in jungles of Kotter-Kerenar near the CRPF's camp at Reddy village, located around 450 kms from Raipur, Maoists opened heavy fire on them, the official said.
Immediately security forces took position and launched retaliatory attack that forced Maoists to flee the spot.
During searching, bodies of the duo were recovered alongside two muzzle loading guns, a revolver and commodities of daily use, he said.
In another incident in Bijapur's Mirtur police station area, which is close to Gangaloor, Maoists fired and hurled bomb at a police camp in the wee hours. However, no harm was reported in the incident, the ASP said.
At Cherli camp in the district, a group of Maoists opened firing and hurled bombs at security personnel. Although rebels escaped from the spot as soon as the jawans launched retaliatory attack and no loss of human life or injury was reported, he added.
Meanwhile, in a separate exchange of fire, a woman Maoist was killed by a team of state's District Reserve Group personnel in Kanker district, police said.
The face-off between police and Maoists took place in the forests between Matenga, Kudarwahi and Duwal villages under Amabeda police station limits in midnight, Kanker Superintendent of Police Jitendra Singh Meena said.
During the search of the spot this morning, a woman attired in 'uniform', two weapons and their rounds, IED planted in a pressure cooker, bags and other materials were recovered, he said.