Two naxals were on Saturday gunned down in a gun fight with army jawan in a thickly forested hill in uprising hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, police said. The encounter occurred early Saturday morning in fretful Sanguel jungle under Burgum police station zone, Bastar Superintendent of Police R N Dash told journalists.

“There was input from nearby sources that a group of radicals was heading towards Bastanar valley after crossing Indravati river to receive a top Maoist leader. The same data was also collected by state intelligence,” he said.

Acting on the inputs, a composite squad comprising District Reserve Group (DRG), Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) and district force had launched an anti-naxal operation in the region, located around 400 kms away from here.

Security forces confronted Maoists in the forests near Sanguel village following which a heavy gun-battle broke out between the two sides. The exchange of fire lasted for about an hour following which rebels escaped into the core forest area, he said.