Raipur: At least 29 Naxals, including one of their top commander, were killed on Tuesday in a joint operation by teams of the Border Security Force (BSF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) in Chhattisgarh’s Kanker district.

Three soldiers were injured in the encounter

The Naxal leader Shankar Rao had a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, police said.

Three soldiers were injured in the encounter and 18 bodies have been recovered, said officials. A large cache of weapons including seven AK-47 rifles and three light machine guns were also recovered from the site.

Police said that there is a strong possibility that the number of deaths would increase.

The encounter broke out between the police and the Naxals in the Maad area days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Residents of Kanker will vote on April 26 in the second phase of polling.