Two Naxalites were shot dead in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Saturday, police said.
The gunfight broke out in the early hours in the forested hills of the district’s northwestern region, where a joint team of security forces was conducting an anti-Naxalite operation based on information about the presence of Maoist cadres in the area, a senior official said.
“So far, bodies of two Naxalites and weapons have been recovered from the spot,” he said.
Intermittent gunfire was going on and further details were awaited, the official added.
On January 3, as many as 14 Naxalites were shot dead in two encounters in the Bastar region, spanning seven districts, including Bijapur.
As many as 285 Naxalites were killed in clashes with security forces in Chhattisgarh last year.
The center has set a deadline of March 31 to eradicate left-wing extremism.