A woman Naxalite was killed in an encounter near the Hikker forests in the Etapalli division of Gadchiroli district on Tuesday.
According to the Gadchiroli police, the Naxals opened fire on a police team that was carrying out a combing operation in the jungle along the Maharashtra-Chhattisgarh border. The woman was killed when the police returned the fire. The firing continued for about half an hour, said the police.
According to police sources, the Naxals escaped into the forest with the body of the woman.
Police have recovered one rifle, two backpacks and some Naxal literature from the encounter spot.
This is the second casualty of a woman on the Naxal side in the district in the last 10 days.