A contingent of the special task force and the district police was carrying out a combing operation in the jungles of the district on Friday night to trace some villagers who had been reportedly called by Naxals to discuss strategies ahead of panchayat polls, the ASP said.
On the way back to camp, Naxals fired on them using some local women as human shields, the ASP said. "The security personnel retaliated cautiously. After finding that security personnel were zeroing on them, Naxals escaped into the core forest," the ASP said.
STF head constable Mahendra Singh, who suffered critical bullet injuries, was airlifted to a hospital in Jagdalpur where he succumbed. Chhattisgarh will have a four-phase panchayat polls later this month and in February.