At least 26 Naxalites were killed on Saturday in an encounter with police in eastern Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, over 900km from Mumbai, senior officials said.

Milind Teltumbde, a member of the Maoists’ central committee, was suspected to be among those dead, according to some reports. The police did not confirm the reports.

Maharashtra home minister Dilip Walse-Patil told PTI that the police were verifying if Teltumbde, one of the wanted suspects in the Koregaon Bhima-Maoists link case, was among the slain rebels.

Gadchiroli district superintendent of police Ankit Goyal said the bodies of 26 Naxalites had so far been recovered from a forest.

The gun battle began in the morning at Korchi in the Mardintola forest while a C-60 police commando team was conducting a search, Goyal said.

Four police personnel were seriously injured and taken to Nagpur by helicopter for treatment.