A hardcore Naxal, carrying a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Saturday.

A hardcore Naxal, carrying a cash reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was gunned down in an encounter with security forces in Sukma district of Chhattisgarh, police said on Saturday. The incident took place on Friday evening, the said. Based on a specific intelligence inputs about the presence of some Naxals from Odisha in the jungles of Chitalnar-Mundwal villages under the limits of Puspal police station, a team of District Reserve Guard (DRG) had launched the operation on Friday, Inspector General of Police (Bastar range) Sundarraj P said.

"When the patrolling team was cordoning off the jungles near the location on Friday evening, an exchange of fire broke out between the two sides," he said. During a search of the spot conducted later, the body of a male Naxal along with a .315 bore firearm, a tiffin bomb, two hand grenades, a couple of detonators, Cordex wire, Maoist literature and items of daily use were recovered, he said.

The killed ultra has been identified as Podiyam Kama alias Nagesh, who was active as an area committee member in Andhra-Odisha Border Special Zonal Committee of Maoists, he said. Nagesh, a native of Bheji area of Sukma, had been working in Kalimela LOS (local organisation squad) on Andhra Pradesh-Odisha Border since the last six years, the IG said, adding that he was carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh in Chhattisgarh.