NAGPUR, Feb. 7 -- In a major breakthrough, the Gadchiroli police on Friday gunned down seven suspected Maoists, including a senior leader of the banned CPI (Maoist), during a prolonged encounter in the district's remote forest area. A police constable was also killed in action, while a civilian sustained bullet injuries in the three-day operation, officers aware of the operation said. According to police, the encounter began during an intelligence-based operation launched by the C-60 unit, the district's elite anti-Naxalite force, in the forested region near Phodewada - the last village of Gadchiroli district bordering the Abujhmad area of Chhattisgarh. The operation began on February 3 and continued intermittently for three days, the officers said. Among those killed was Prabhakar (55), a senior member of the Dandakaranya Special Zonal Committee of the CPI (Maoist) and in-charge of its western region. He also headed the Company No. 10 of the outfit and carried a reward of Rs.24 lakh on his head. htc...