A senior leader of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist) and six suspected Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, police said on Friday.
The Maoist leader, identified as Prabhakar alias Loketi Chandar Rao, carried a reward of ₹25 lakh and headed the group’s Gadchiroli divisional committee, according to authorities.
A security officer, Deepak Chinna Madavi, was also killed and another injured during the three-day anti-Maoist operation in the Abujmad region. Fourteen units of the district’s special anti-Maoist C-60 force were deployed near Phodewada village along the Narayanpur–Gadchiroli border.
“An exchange of fire took place with Maoists on Friday, and their two camps were busted,” Gadchiroli Police said in a statement. The injured officer is stable and receiving treatment in Gadchiroli.
The operation follows the Union Ministry of Home Affairs’ recent statement that the number of districts affected by Left-wing extremism has fallen to eight from 11 in October. The government has pledged to eliminate Maoist activity by March 2026.
In recent years, key Maoist figures have been killed or surrendered as part of the government’s anti-Maoist offensive. Civil liberties groups and opposition parties have occasionally questioned the authenticity of such encounters.