Hyderabad: In a major gun battle, police shot dead eight Maoists, including five women, on the Telangana-Chhattisgarh border in India on Tuesday, police said.

A gun battle erupted around 7:30am near Guttepadu in the Chintavadu forests in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh.

The scene of gun battle was 15km from Cherla mandal in Khammam district in Telangana.

It began when the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), the anti-Maoist force Greyhounds and police launched combing operations in the forests of Khammam following a tip off about the presence of Maoists.

The Maoists, numbering about 30, escaped in the deep forests into neighbouring Chhattisgarh. In the fighting that ensued, eight Maoists were killed.

Telangana Director General of Police Anurag Sharma said the forces were conducting combing operations in the area for last four days.

The slain Maoists belonging to the Communist Party of India-Maoist included five women.

The bodies were airlifted to Bhadrachalam Area Hospital in Khammam where an autopsy will be conducted.

Police seized one AK-47 rifle, six SLR and three .303 rifles from the scene of the gun battle.