Naxal commander gunned down in Chhattisgarh

RAIPUR: A hardcore Naxal commander was today killed and another one arrested after a gunbattle with police in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit Kondagaon district.

Phool Singh, commander of Barda dalam of the outlawed CPI (Maoist), was gunned down in the face-off between Maoists and police personnel in the restive forests under Ghanora police station limits in the wee hours today, Kondagaon Superintendent of Police Abhishek Meena said.

Acting on inputs that some hardcore cadres were camping in the region, located around 250 kms from Raipur, the police force was mobilised in the forests of Ghanora.

On sensing the police team in the area, the armed rebels started firing indiscriminately at them following which the security personnel retaliated.

Following the heavy firing that lasted for around two hours, the ultras started running towards the jungles.

However, one of the Naxals was arrested while he was trying to escape from the spot, the SP said, adding, that he was identified as Rakesh, commander of Antagarh dalam.

Later, police recovered Phool Singh's body, two hand grenades, Naxal literature, documents, diaries, medicines and commodities of daily use from the spot, he said.

The diaries and documents contain crucial details of the Naxal activities in the region and their future plans. There are also details of the target persons of Maoists mentioned in it, Meena said.

The interrogation of the arrested rebel would help the police in thwarting the evil designs of Maoists planned in Kondagaon and Kanker districts, he added.