Raipur, July 19:  Eight Maoists, including four women, were gunned down in a shootout with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district early on Friday, police said. The incident took place around 6.30 a.m. in a forest near Timenar village along the border of Bijapur and Dantewada districts when a joint team of the District Reserve Guard and Special Task Force were out on an anti-Maoist operation.

The area is located around 450 km from the state capital Raipur. "The joint team had launched the search operation near Timenar village forest on a tip-off when the exchange of fire broke out," said the official.

Additional police forces were rushed to the spot after the incident and eight bodies of Maoists were recovered. "Four of the dead Maoists are women."  Five weapons, including two Insas rifles, were also recovered from the site.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2018 06:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).