A Communist Party of India-Maoist (CPI-Maoist) cadre, identified as Sameer Mohonda alias Sadhu Linga (31), a member of the Chatgaon Local Organizational Squad (LOS) of the CPI-Maoist, carrying a reward of INR 200,000 on his head, was killed in an encounter with C-60 commandos in the Kiarkoti-Abujhmad Forest area in Bhamragarh Taluka (revenue division) in Gadchiroli District of Maharashtra on April 1, reports The Times of India. A press release by the office of Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police (SP) stated that in the lead-up to an ongoing planned agitation in the Todgatta region, Naxalites [Left Wing Extremism, LWE] had threatened the local population to join. They had strategically distributed pamphlets to instigate local villagers to support their cause and to oppose the road work and other developmental work on the false pretext of starting of Damkodwahi mining operation. As per the input, a large congregation of Naxalites was present near Todgatta to intimidate villagers, and they were planning a largescale ambush and attack on operating Police parties, the release said. Acting on the input, Gadchiroli Police's C60 anti-Naxal squad launched an operation in the Abujhmad Forest bordering Chhattisgarh. During the operation, they came under indiscriminate fire from a group of 60 to 70 Naxalites hiding in the Hiker Forest who used Barrel Grenade Launcher (BGL) and other weapons. The C-60 commandos retaliated and engaged Naxalites for approximately an hour. Eventually, the Naxalites managed to flee into the dense forest. A huge cache of weapons, including one .303 rifle, bharmar gun, country-made pistol, three magazines, 31 bullets, cash Rs 38,000, medicines, one branded tablet, Maoist literature and other materials were recovered from the hillock where the encounter happened for almost an hour.