Maoist carrying Rs 14L bounty shot dead

A suspected Maoist, Chaitu, was shot dead by the MP police’s Hawk Force near Kanha National Park in Balaghat district. Chaitu, alias Markam Hidma, was a native of Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur and an area committee member of Malajkhand Dalam. The police received intelligence about Maoists hiding in Khamkodadar forest. The Hawk Force surrounded the insurgents and ordered them to surrender, but they started shooting. Chaitu was killed in the encounter.