At least 29 Maoists were gunned down in one of the biggest operations carried out by the security forces in recent times in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker region on Tuesday.

According to the police, top Maoist leaders Shankar Rao, who carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, and Lalita were killed in the encounter.

Chhattisgarh police said the number of fatalities could go up as the search operation is still underway in the densely forested area.

Three security personnel, including two BSF jawans and one from the state police’s District Reserve Guard (DRG), suffered injuries in the incident.

The operation was carried out by a joint team of the BSF and DRG near the Binagunda-Koragutta forest area in Kanker.

“After the encounter, the area was searched which led to the recovery of 29 bodies along with a large cache of arms and ammunition, including AK-47 rifles,” the police said.

(This article has been published via a syndicated feed)