A policeman was killed and another injured in an encounter with naxalites in insurgency-hit Narayanpur district of Chhattisagrh, police said on Saturday.
The face-off took place when the joint party of Special Task Force and district force was patrolling the forests in Orchha police station area on Friday evening, Narayanpur Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) O.P. Sharma told PTI .
According to the officer, the security personnel were mobilised from Orchha police station of Abhujmad region for an anti-naxal operation in the region since Thursday night.
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When the search party was returning to its camp last evening, a group of armed rebels ambushed it between forests of Becha and Ilam villages, located around 400 km from Raipur.
Ultras opened indiscriminate firing on security personnel leaving two constables injured.
However, naxals fled to the core forests when jawans retaliated, he added.
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Constable Pankaj Suryawanshi, 22, succumbed to his injuries while being taken out of the jungle on Friday night while the injured constable Ramesh Kumar Nag, 23, is admitted to a local hospital, he said.
The condition of the injured policeman is said to be stable, he added.
Soon after getting the news of the incident, additional forces were rushed to the spot, the ASP said, adding a manhunt has been launched in the region to nab the attackers.