In a major strike, the Gadchiroli police on Sunday gunned down four Naxalites near the district’s border with Gondia.

The Naxalites were on the run after quickly winding up a sprawling camp in the dense Mayalghat forest, sandwiched between the two districts, when they got the wind of a possible police swoop.

Two Commando 60 parties, however, caught up with them at Parvidand village. Four Naxalites were killed in the ensuing mortar attack. Three cops also received injuries in the encounter. A lot of material, including arms, have been recovered from the spot.

This is the third major strike by police since August, when four Maoists were killed in two encounters in Gadchiroli. With today’s operation, the total number of Naxalites killed by police this year has gone up to 19, a new record.

Meanwhile, the Maoists continue to target civilians in Gadchiroli, where they killed a third person in the past 10 days. Chaitu Atram, 35, was stabbed to death on Saturday night by a gang of about 25 Naxalites. They apparently suspected that he was planning to turn a police informer.

With this, the number of civilians killed this year by Naxalites has gone up to 33, while there have been three police casualties.