An inspector of Madhya Pradesh’s Hawk Force unit, Ashish Sharma, was killed in a gunfight with suspected Maoists in a forested area near the Madhya Pradesh-Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra tri-junction.

The Hawk Force is a specialised anti-Maoist unit of the Madhya Pradesh Police.

The 26-year-old inspector was shot allegedly by the Maoists during a joint operation conducted by personnel from the Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra police in a forest in Balaghat, the Hindustan Times reported.

Pankaj Srivastava, anti-Maoist operations deputy director general of police, told the newspaper that information had been received about Maoists hiding near Bor Talab on the border of the three states.

“Upon arrival, the police asked them to surrender but they started firing,” the Hindu

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