Chaibasa (Jharkhand) | A Maoist, carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Sunday, police said.

The encounter broke out in the morning at Burjuwa Hill in Goilkera police station area.

Speaking to PTI, Kolhan DIG Anuranjan Kispotta said, "An encounter between Maoists and security forces took place in the morning. A body was recovered during a subsequent search operation."

IG (operations) and Jharkhand Police spokesperson Michael Raj S told PTI, "The body was identified as that of Amit Hansda alias Aptan, a self-styled zonal commander of CPI(Maoist) who carried a Rs 10 lakh reward."

He said the search operation is still underway in the area.

The Chaibasa superintendent of police had received a tip-off about the presence of Maoists in Relaparal area under the jurisdiction of Goilkera police station, another officer said.

Based on the input, teams of security forces carried out a search operation in the morning and an encounter broke out around 6 am, he added.

Seeing that the security forces were overpowering them, the Maoists fled into the dense forests and during the subsequent search operation, Hansda's body was found along with a firearm, the officer added.