Raipur, Sep 7 - Chhattisgarh police Monday gunned down a deputy commander of the outlawed Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) and arrested four of his colleagues, officials said.

'We raided a CPI-Maoist hideout in a hilly area under Bhansi locality in Dantewada district and shot dead a deputy commander and arrested four of his colleagues including a minor boy,' Superintendent of Police Amresh Mishra told reporters at the district headquarters in Dantewada, some 380 km south of capital Raipur.

Police have recovered some arms from the arrested militants.

Forested interiors of Dantewada district along with Bastar, Narayanpur, Bijapur and Kanker that form the 40,000 sq km Bastar region are known to be Maoist stronghold since late 1980s.