Police in Chhattisgarh on Thursday claimed to have killed two Maoists allegedly involved in a blast that killed a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and four security personnel on April 9, PTI reported.

The suspects were killed in an gunfight with security forces in Dantewada district. One Maoist was injured and was taken to hospital.

The gunfight broke out at around 5.30 am in a forest in Daulikarka village when a team of District Reserve Guard was out on an operation, Deputy Inspector General P Sundarraj told PTI. After the encounter, the forces recovered bodies of the two Maoists and a .315 bore gun, he said.

The two suspects were identified as Vargese and Linga, Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallava said. Pallav said the suspects were there to install improvised explosive devices with the intent to execute a major operation, ANI reported.

On April 9, Dantewada MLA Bheema Mandavi was among five people killed in a suspected Maoist attack on his convoy after he was returning from election campaigning. The attack took place two days before voting in the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, in which Dantewada is located.

Three more constituencies in the state – Rajnandgaon, Mahasamund and Kanker – are voting in the second phase on Thursday.