A top Naxal leader was among at least 18 extremists gunned down in a joint operation launched by the Border Security Force (BSF) and the District Reserve Guard (DRG) in Chhattisgarh's Kanker district on Tuesday.

Identified as Shankar Rao by the police, the Naxal leader had a reward of Rs 25 lakhs on his head.

On the other hand, three security personnel were also injured in the encounter, officials said, adding that they recovered 18 bodies from the site of the encounter.

A large cache of weapons including seven AK-47 assault rifles and three light machine guns were recovered from the site, the officials added.

Meanwhile, the police also said that there is a strong possibility of the death toll rising.

The encounter between the police and the Naxals in the Maad area broke out days ahead of the Lok Sabha elections. Polling will be held in Chhattisgarh's Kanker on April 26 in the second phase.