Two Maoists killed in Chhattisgarh police crossfire

Narayanpur (Chhattisgarh), Mar.24 (ANI): In a joint operation led by Police Superintendent Mayank Srivastava, police and paramilitary forces gunned down two Maoists in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur District.

A huge cache of arms and ammunition, including a 12- bore gun, a 9mm pistol and a bomb were found at the encounter site.

Srivastava said: " Our joint forces of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), Special Task Force (STF) and the District Force (DF) had gone on a forest search operation, during which they anticipated Maoist presence in the area."

" They surrounded the area and an exchange of fire took place between the two sides. Later in the search operation we recovered two bodies and three weapons," he added.

Meanwhile, police have arrested four Maoists in Faras village of the same district.

They are believed to be senior Maoist ultras and have several criminal cases registered against them.

Maoists have spread into rural pockets of 20 of India's 28 states. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has termed them India's gravest internal security threat.

Initially, the Maoists contended that they were fighting for the cause of the poor and weaker sections of the society. However, over the past two decades they have turned extremely violent. (ANI)