Naxal commander shot dead in Chhattisgarh

Raipur: A naxal commander was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s insurgency-hit Dantewada district, police said today.

The skirmish took place late last evening in Dokapara forest under Kirandul police station limits when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-naxal operation, Dantewada Additional Superintendent of Police Gorakhnath Baghel told PTI.

“The composite squad of Special Task Force (STF) and District Reserve Guard (DRG) was cordoning off the forest area on the border of Dantewada and Bijapur districts, around 450 kms away from the capital, when it came under heavy fire from ultras in Dokapara, leading to the gun-battle,” he said.

After the guns fell silent, the security forces recovered the body of a naxal along with one 315 bore gun from the spot, the ASP said. “The naxal has been identified as Ungami alias Chakra, who was active as a jan militia commander,” he said.

Further details are awaited as the patrolling team was yet to get back to Dantewada headquarters, he said.