29 Naxals gunned down in Chhattisgarh

As many as 29 Naxalites killed in encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Tuesday, police said.

Three security personnel suffered injuries in the fierce gun-battle and a large quantity of weapons was also recovered from the spot, they said.

The gunfight took place at around 2 pm in Hapatola forest between Binagunda and Koronar villages under Chhotebethiya police station limits, when a joint team of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the state's District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, a senior police official said.

"As per preliminary information, at least eight Naxalites were gunned down in the encounter. A huge cache of weapons was recovered from the spot," he informed.

The three security personnel injured in the gunfight were being shifted to a hospital for treatment, the official said.

Kanker lies over 150 km from Bastar, which goes to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 19.

Election authorities on Tuesday started moving polling personnel in helicopters to the Naxal-dominant area. Electronic voting machines (EVMs) have also been dispatched amid tight security.

(With inputs from PTI)

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