Authorities in Chhattisgarh confirmed that 7 Maoists were killed during an exchange fire with the police in the district of Rajnandgaon, and added that they also seized a large cache of weapons.

Sundarraj P, the Deputy Inspector General for Anti-Maoist operations, said that the exchange fire happened by 6 am this morning near the Sitagota Village, which falls under the jurisdiction of the Baghnadi Police Station.

The District Reserve Guard was out of an Anti-Maoist operation when the shootout happened.

DIG Sundarrak added, “So far, bodies of seven Maoists along with a huge cache of weapons, including one AK-47, have been found from the spot.”

The police are trying to identify the 7 Maoists and have launched a search operation in the area so they could check if there are more Maoists in the bushy area.

After the encounter happened, the state government placed the Wazedu, Venkatapuram, Charla, Eturunagaram, Mangapet, and other areas on high alert.

Locals saw a huge battalion of CRPF personnel moving in the tribal areas of the state after the incident.

It is believed that the Naxals were trying to take revenge for the Gadchiroli Encounter and were supposed to hold a meeting in the forest area.