RANCHI: A top Maoist Ashish Da was killed in an encounter with police and central paramilitary forces at Borodih town under Palkot police headquarters territory in Gumla region on Sunday. He conveyed an bounty of Rs 25 lakh. A SLR, with two different rifles including one American Springfield rifle was recuperated from the forest alongside his body.

An individual from CPI (Maoist) powerful Bihar-Jharkhand special area board of trustees (BJSAC) – one of the biggest Maoist units in Bihar and Jharkhand – Ashish da was the brain behind big Maoist strikes in both the states.

IG operations and police spokesperson M S Bhatia said the operation was launched on specific inputs. “The jawans on his trail engaged him in the encounter when he started fleeing from the spot with other Maoists. The encounter continued for over 30 minutes,” Bhatia said.

A source said Ashish was moving to a secured place in the jungle before he was engaged in the encounter. BJSAC members – who often work to support the rebels at the ideological level and devise plans – generally move into the forests with enough troops for strike.