Bhubaneswar, Dec 25: In a significant blow to Maoist operations, senior Maoist leader Ganesh Uike and three other cadres were killed in an encounter with security forces in Odisha’s Kandhamal district on Thursday.

According to police sources, the exchange of fire took place in the Chakapad police station area and the Rambha forest range along the Kandhamal–Ganjam border early Thursday morning. The operation was carried out based on specific intelligence inputs received by the Special Intelligence Wing (SIW).

Ganesh Uike, a Central Committee member of CPI (Maoist), was the top leader of the banned outfit in Odisha. He was carrying a reward of Rs 1.1 crore on his head. At 69, Uike was among the few remaining members of the Maoist Central Committee, the organisation’s highest decision-making body.

Known by several aliases — Pakka Hanumantu, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamru, and Rupa — Uike hailed from Pullemala village under Chendur mandal in Telangana’s Nalgonda district.

Police said efforts are underway to establish the identities of the other three Maoists who were killed during the operation.