A Maoist, who was active in an outlawed outfit for nearly three decades and carried a reward of Rs 8 lakh, was killed in an encounter with security personnel in Chhattisgarh’s Dantewada district, a senior police official said on Thursday.

The face-off took place on Wednesday on a forested hill between Gondpalli, Parlagatta and Badepalli villages on the Dantewada-Sukma districts border, when a joint team of security forces was out on an anti-Maoist operation.

Dantewada superintendent of police Gaurav Rai said in a media conference that the operation was launched based on inputs about the presence of Maoists along the inter-district border.

After the exchange of fire stopped, the body of a Maoist — identified as Chandranna alias Satyam — along with a country-made pistol, its four live rounds and other Maoist-related materials were recovered from the spot, he said.

Chandranna, aged around 50 years and a resident of the Golapalli area in Sukma district, was involved in several instances of Maoist violence, he said.