India, March 21 -- Maoists had gathered in Bijapur district's remote forests for a tactical counter offensive campaign (TCOC) meeting when security forces surrounded them, leading to a gunfight that killed 26 of them, Chhattisgarh deputy chief minister Vijay Sharma said a day after 30 members of banned CPI (Maoist) were killed in two separate encounters in the Bastar region on Thursday.

"Maoists had gathered in remote jungles for a tactical counter offensive campaign meeting when the security forces surrounded them," Sharma, who handles the home portfolio, told reporters at the state assembly complex on Friday.

Apart from the 26 Maoists killed in Bijapur, four more were killed by a joint team of the Border Security Force (BSF) and Distr...