Woman Naxal gunned down in exchange of fire

A woman Naxal was today gunned down in an exchange of fire with security forces in the dense forest of insurgency-hit Rajnandgaon district, police said.
The skirmish took place on a hill under Kohka police station area when a joint team of security forces was carrying out an anti-Maoist operation in the region, Rajandgaon Superintendent of Police, Prashant Agrawal, told PTI.
A composite squad of Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and district force had launched the operation towards interiors of Kohka, around 200 km from state capital Raipur.
While they were cordoning off Nagurtola hill, a group of armed rebels opened indiscriminate fire on them leading to a gun-battle between them, he said.

Soon the rebels escaped into core forests following which the security forces conducted a search during which the body of a woman rebel clad in 'uniform' was recovered, he said, adding the identity of the deceased was being ascertained.
A 12-bore gun and several other Naxal-related materials, including items of daily use, were also seized from the spot, he added.