After a brief exchange of fire, the rebels fled, an official said. (Representational)
Three Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Thursday, a senior police official said.
The skirmish took place around 6 pm in the forest at the foot of Dholkal Hills when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Maoist operation, said district Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava.
The DRG is part of the state police force.
After a brief exchange of fire, the rebels fled. The bodies of three men, identified as Birju Kakem, Jaggu Kakem and Ajay Poyami, were recovered from the site, the SP said.
Three country-made firearms, kit bags, a three-kg Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and items of daily use were also seized, he said.
Birju, a "militia platoon commander'', and Jaggu, deputy chief of the "Range Party Committee'' of Maoists, were carrying rewards of Rs 1 lakh each on their heads, the official said.
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