According to a police official, constable Bhimaram Kunjam had gone to Hitwar village in Kuakonda yesterday to collect some information, when five naxalites, masquerading as villagers, attacked him.
Undaunted, Kunjam snatched the pistol and fired at them, forcing them to retreat, the official said, adding, the pistol belonged to a sub-inspector who was killed in a Naxal attack in Kuakonda on February 28, 2014.
Superintendent of Police Kamalochan Kashyap has announced an award of Rs 10,000 for Kunjam, the police official said.