Naxal with ₹5 lakh bounty shot dead in Chhattisgarh

A Naxal carrying a reward of ₹5 lakh on his head was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Wednesday, a police official said.

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The rebel was wanted in connection with several Naxal incidents, Dantewada's Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said.

The gunfight took place in a forest between Chikpal and Marjum villages early morning when a joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, he said.

After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of an ultra, identified as Hidma Muchaki, was recovered from the spot along with a 9 mm pistol, he said.

Muchaki, who was active as a member of the Katekalyan Area Committee of Maoists, was involved in several Naxal incidents in the area and carried a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, Pallava said.

He said search operation was still on at the encounter site, located around 400 km from the state capital Raipur.