Gadchiroli, April 1 In a brazen attack, around five-six dozen heavily armed Maoists attempted to corner and eliminate a Maharashtra Police commando team in the thick forests of Hedri and in the ensuing encounter, one outlaw was killed, officials said here on Saturday.
The no-holds-barred gun-battle, lasting nearly 45 minutes, took place when the crack C-60 commando teams were engaged in an anti-insurgency operation in the Hikker jungles in Hedri in Gadchiroli district.
At around 11 a.m., some 60-70 Maoists suddenly opened fire at the C-60 forces and despite appeals to them to stop and surrender, they continued firing, said Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police, Neelotpal.
Left with no options, the C-60 teams returned the fire and the fierce encounter continued for over half-an-hour before the extremists gave up and fled into the dense forest.
Later, a search of the jungle revealed the body of one wanted Maoist, Sadhu Linga Mohanda alias Sameer (31) from Bhamragad, the police said.
"He carried a bounty of Rs 200,000 on his head and had four serious criminal cases registered against him. He has been a member of the Chatgaon LOS since 2018," Neelotpal told the media.
The police also recovered a cache of arms including one rifle, one country-made gun, a Bharmar rifle, two SLR magazines with 30 rounds, three rounds of 8 mm rifle, four rounds of 12.bore gun, two pittus, Maoist literature, one Samsung tablet, one radio and cash to the tune of over Rs 38,000, plus other personal belongings of the Maoists.
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