New Delhi - At least four Maoist militants were shot dead on Saturday in armed clashes with police in India's central Chhattisgarh state, IANS news agency reported. The gun battle broke out in the Sendra forests in the southern Bijapur district when the guerrillas fired at the policemen who were conducting counter-insurgency operations, IANS reported quoting police officials.
"The security forces retaliated and gunned down four rebels but several others managed to melt into the forests," an unnamed police official was quoted as saying.
The Bijapur district, which lies over 500 kilometres south of state capital Raipur, is one of the strongholds of the Maoists.
The Maoists currently have a presence in 13 of India's 28 states and seven federally-administered territories. They are most active in Chhattisgarh, eastern Jharkhand and southern Andhra Pradesh states.
The Maoists reject parliamentary democracy and aim to capture political power through an armed struggle based on guerrilla warfare. Although the Indian government has intensified operations against the rebels, Maoist-related violence is showing no signs of slowing down.
In 2006, 749 people including rebels, security personnel and civilians were killed in Maoist-related violence, while there were over 250 dead in the first four months of 2007.
