By IANS
Raipur : At least four Maoist militants were shot dead in a gun battle with the police Saturday in Chhattisgarh's insurgency-hit southern tip of Bijapur, officials said.
The battle broke out in a forested stretch of Sendra area, 565 km south of here, in Bastar region when the guerrillas fired at policemen on a combing drive.
"The security forces retaliated and gunned down four rebels, but several other managed to melt into the forests," a police office told IANS over telephone.
Bijapur along with neighbouring Dantewada, Narayanpur and Kanker are considered a Maoist bastion.
At least 220 have been killed in Maoist violence in the state this year, police say.
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