A joint team of the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) killed at least nine Maoists during an encounter in  Chhattisgarh's Dantewada district on Tuesday, media reports said.

The operation was launched based on intelligence inputs that indicated the presence of Maoists in the area, reported Hindustan Times.

The encounter reportedly began at 10.30 am.

It is still going on.

“So far, nine Maoists have been killed, and a large quantity of weapons, including a Self-Loading Rifle (SLR), a .303 Rifle, and a .315 Bore Rifle, have been recovered from the spot,” a police statement said as quoted by the newspaper.

"All the jawans involved in the operation are safe. The search operation is still underway, and further details will be shared after the operation is complete," the statement said.