Four Naxalites were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district, the police said on Tuesday. The face-off took place in a forest under Jangla police station area when separate teams of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) were out on an anti-Naxal operation, he said.
When one of the patrolling teams of the DRG was near Chhote Tungali forest, the exchange of fire broke out, he said.
So far, bodies of four Naxalites have been recovered from the encounter site, the official said, adding that search was still underway.
Earlier on Monday, a Naxalite commander, who was allegedly involved in deadly attacks and carried a bounty of Rs 8 lakh, surrendered before the security forces in the Sukma district, the police said.
Nagesh alias Pedkam Erra (38) turned himself in before the police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officials, citing disappointment with the "inhumane" and "hollow" Maoist ideology, Sukma Superintendent of Police Kiran G Chavan said.
The surrendered Naxalite also said he was impressed by the district police's rehabilitation drive 'Puna Narkom' (a term coined in the local Gondi dialect which means New Dawn, New Beginning), he said.
(With PTI inputs)
