Raipur: A Naxal commander, carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head, was injured in an encounter with security forces in a forest in Chhattisgarh's Rajnandgaon district and subsequently detained, police said on Wednesday.
Firearms, including an AK-47 rifle, and 'live' cartridges were also seized from the injured ultra, they said.
The gun-battle took place on Tuesday night when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Maoist operation in the Job police outpost area, Rajnandgaon Superintendent of Police Jitendra Shukla told media.
Acting on a tip-off about the movement of ultras from the forest of Job area towards Baghnadi, adjoining Maharashtra, a joint squad of Indo Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) and district force had launched the operation, he said.
Security personnel had laid an ambush on Katenga- Pendridih road, located around 150km from the state capital Raipur, anticipating movement of Maoists from the area, Shukla said.
However, sensing the presence of security personnel there, around a dozen of ultras opened fire on them, he said.
After a strong retaliation by security forces, Naxals fled into the dense forest, he said.
During a search of the spot on Wednesday morning, security forces found a Maoist bag and commodities of daily use besides blood stains, indicating some rebels might have sustained injuries in the gunfight, he said.