Raipur, Nov 11 : A Maoist was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Chhattigsarh's Bijapur district on Sunday morning, a day ahead of polling in the region for the state Assembly polls.

The exchange of fire took place at a forest in Bedre area when a team of the Special Task Force (STF) was out on an anti-Naxal operation, a senior police official told PTI.

As per the ground report, a body of a Naxal clad in 'uniform' and a rifle were recovered from the spot, located around 450 km from here, he said.

Further details are awaited as the search operation was still underway, he added.

Security has been heightened in seven districts of Bastar division and Rajnandgaon district which go to polls in the first phase on Monday.

Around one lakh security personnel have been deployed to ensure smooth conduct of elections. Naxalites have asked voters to boycott the polls.

The 90-member Chhattisgarh Assembly will go to polls in two phases -- on November 12 and 20 -- and the results will be announced on December 11.

The first phase of polls will cover 18 constituencies of eight Naxal-affected districts that include Bastar, Kanker, Sukma, Bijapur, Dantewada, Narayanpur, Kondagaon and Rajnandgaon.

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Bengaluru: Vidyaranyapura police have arrested four persons, including a man posing as a Police Sub-Inspector (PSI), for allegedly breaking into a house, threatening the occupants, and extorting money while wearing police uniforms.

The arrested accused have been identified as Mallikarjuna, Pramod, Vinay, and Hrithik.

Police said the accused had hatched a plan to pose as police personnel, conduct fake raids, and extort money from residents by intimidation.

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According to the police, Mallikarjuna had failed the PSI examination twice and later falsely projected himself as a PSI. He allegedly conducted photo shoots in his hometown, Siraguppa, wearing a police uniform, baton, cap, and shoes, claiming to be serving as a PSI in Bengaluru.

On December 7, the four accused allegedly went to the house of Naveen in the Vidyaranyapura limits, threatened him with a stick and an iron rod, and claimed they had information that he was selling ganja. Under the pretext of searching, they allegedly extorted ₹87,000 through bank transfer, ₹53,000 in cash kept in the house, and ₹2,000 from his wallet.

Following Naveen’s complaint, Vidyaranyapura police registered a case and launched an operation, leading to the arrest of all four accused. Police have seized ₹45,000 in cash and the car used to commit the crime.
Further investigation is underway.