A woman Naxalwas gunned down yesterday in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district, police said. The gun-battle took place at around 3:30 pm in the forests of Masapara village under Bhansi police station area when a team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava told PTI over the phone.

Acting on information about the presence of 10-15 rebels in Masapara hills, the patrolling team, comprising around 200personnel,combed the area, located around 400km from the state capital Raipur, he said. When security forces were encircling a particular spot, they came under fire from ultras, triggering the gun- battle, Pallava said. After the exchange of fire, that lasted for around half-an-hour, the ultras fled into the core forest area.