Nagpur/Gadchiroli: Three Naxals were killed during an intense gun battle with security forces underway for the past 24 hours in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra on Friday. The gunfight also left one elite police commando dead, while another was injured.
The encounter took place in a forested stretch of Gadchiroli when the Maharashtra Police launched a major counter-insurgency operation through its specialised C-60 commando unit following specific intelligence inputs.
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07 Feb 2026
A video from the encounter site showed belongings, believed to be of the Naxals, scattered across a stretch.
Security forces recovered two Naxal bodies this morning, bringing the total number of Naxals killed in the encounter to three. One AK-47 rifle and one SLR (Self-Loading Rifle) were also seized from the site. The identities of the deceased Naxals have not been established.
The injured jawan, Deepak Chinna Madavi of the C60 unit, was airlifted from the remote forest area early morning and taken to the nearest Sub District Hospital in Bhamragad, where he succumbed to his injuries. Another jawan, Joga Madavi, sustained bullet wounds but is reported to be out of danger.
Gadchiroli Police said, “Injured C60 Jawan Deepak Chinna Madavi, who was airlifted from the deep forest in Abujhmad early morning and brought to the nearest Sub District Hospital Bhamragad, has succumbed to his injuries. One more jawan, Joga Madavi, received bullet injuries; he is out of danger now.”
Gadchiroli is a heavily forested and tribal-dominated district in eastern Maharashtra, known as a stronghold for Naxal activity. The challenging terrain complicates security operations. The C-60 is a specialised commando unit of the Maharashtra Police trained specifically for anti-Naxal operations in the Gadchiroli region.
In October 2025, a significant development occurred when Naxal Commander Mallojula Venogopal Rao, also known as Bhupati, Sonu, and Abhay, surrendered before Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis at Gadchiroli Police Headquarters. Approximately 60 Naxalites laid down arms alongside Bhupati, marking one of the largest surrenders in Maharashtra’s history. Bhupati had insisted on surrendering only in the presence of Chief Minister Fadnavis.
Bhupati was born in Peddapalli district of Telangana and was a postgraduate in commerce from a Brahmin family. He was recognised as one of the most educated figures in the Maoist movement. His elder brother, Kishenji, was a senior Maoist leader once considered to become the General Secretary of CPI (Maoist) before being killed in an encounter in Bengal in 2012.
