One STF personnel killed in gun battle with Maoists in Chhattisgarh

At least one personnel of the Special Task Force (STF) was killed, while another was critically injured during a gun battle with Maoists in Chhattisgarh on Friday.

The incident took place when the security forces were on their way to Sukma District, a Maoist hotbed in the state.

Senior police officials said that the rebels showered the security patrol with bullets, triggering a gun battle.

"The gun battle began when our forces went there for area domination. Our officials faced the rebels bravely but one of our men has been injured due to shrapnel injuries from 12 bore rifle while other personnel got killed during the attack," said Ramniwas, Director General of Police (DGP), Chhattisgarh.

Meanwhile another injured security official was brought to state capital Raipur for medical aid.

Doctors who performed surgery on the injured security personnel said that his health parameters were stable.

"He has sustained bullet injuries in the chest and thigh. He has shrapnel injuries in the entire chest while a bullet has been removed from his leg. His condition is stable," said Doctor Sandeep Dave.

Maoists have significantly increased their presence in tribal and rural regions in the states of central Chhattisgarh, eastern Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal and Odisha as well as certain parts of western Maharashtra and southern Andhra Pradesh.

The Maoists say they are fighting for the rights of millions of landless labourers and marginal farmers.

However, the government has termed them to be India's main internal security threat and an obstacle to growth in Asia's third-largest economy.

The Maoists have killed police and politicians, and targeted government buildings and railway tracks in an insurgency that has killed thousands since the 1960s.