The chief of Maoist splinter group JSMM was lynched and two other members were critically injured after being allegedly beaten up by villagers in Jharkhand's Latehar district, police said on Tuesday.

The incident occurred in Bari village under the Chandwa Police Station limits on Monday night.

A clash broke out between the members of the proscribed outfit Jharkhand Sangharsh Mukti Morchathey and locals over extortion, a senior officer said.

Latehar Superintendent of Police Kumar Gaurav said, "Seven members of the group went to a brick kiln in the village for extortion, following which, the clash broke out. Kishore alias Abhay Nayak, the supremo of JSMM, and two members were beaten up, while four others managed to escape from the spot." Nayak succumbed to his injuries in Chandwa hospital, and the injured members of the group are undergoing treatment at the health facility, he said.

He had several criminal records and had earlier gone to jail, the officer added.

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