A Maoist commander, who was allegedly behind the attack that killed a Bharatiya Janata Party MLA and four policemen in April, was on Thursday shot dead in an encounter, reports said. Madvi Muyya was also reportedly one of the masterminds of the 2018 Dantewada attack in which a Doordarshan cameraman and two security personnel were killed, said Dantewada Superintendent of Police Abhishek Pallav.

Muyya’s body was recovered from Kirandul area in Chhattisgarh where he was killed in an exchange of fire with a police team, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Vivekanand Sinha told IANS.

“The Maoist was carrying a reward of Rs 8 lakh on his head,” said Sinha. “He was killed in an exchange of fire after a police team tried to capture him following a tip-off about his presence in the area. The operation was carried out early Thursday morning. One rifle with six live cartridges was recovered from the spot.”

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. On April 18, the Chhattisgarh Police claimed to have killed two Maoists allegedly involved in the blast that killed Mandavi.