A gunfight broke out between members of a banned Maoist outfit and security personnel in Jharkhand's Chatra district on Monday, police said.

During a combing operation in Angarha forest in Kunda, around 200 km from the state capital Ranchi, cadres of the outlawed Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee fired upon the security forces and they retaliated, Chatra Superintendent of Police Rakesh Ranjan said.

The TSPC is a breakaway faction of the banned CPI (Maoist).

Members of the outfit managed to escape from the spot after red rebels realised that they could be overpowered by the joint team of district police, Central Reserve Police Force and personnel of special force Jaguar, the officer said.

"The forest area has been cordoned off, and the operation is going on. Three firearms were recovered from the spot," the SP added.

Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Telegraph Online staff and has been published from a syndicated feed.