Raipur, May 12: Six Naxals including a woman were arrested in Chhattisgarh's Maoist-hit Bijapur district, police said today. The Naxals were arrested in a forest under Gangaloor police station limits when a joint team of District Reserve Guard of police, Special Task Force and local police was out on a search operation yesterday, Bijapur Superintendent of Police Mohit Garg told PTI.

He identified the arrested cadres as Santu Punem (32), Aaytu Punem (19), Raju Potam (20), Punem Lakkhu (32) and Punem Manku (25), all Maoist militia members; and Laxmi Punem (25), head of the Krantikari Adivasi Mahila Sangh, a Maoist front.

Acting on a tip-off, security forces were conducting a combing operation to nab some wanted Naxals in Gangaloor area, 450 km from Raipur, for the last two days, the SP said.

An encounter broke out between the security forces and ultras in a forest near Pusnar-Metpal village on May 10 but the Naxals fled after a brief exchange of fire, he said.

The security forces, however, pursued them and nabbed them the next day by cordoning off a nearby forest, Garg said. Cordex wire (used in explosives), bow and arrows and Maoist literature were recovered from their possession, he said, adding that all six were produced in a local court today which remanded them in judicial custody.