CPI (Maoist) central committee member Milind Teltumbde was one of the 26 Maoist insurgents gunned down in Saturday’s encounter in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district, police have confirmed, according to media reports.

“Surrendered Naxalites have identified one of the bodies as that of Teltumbde’s,” Gadchiroli Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal told The Indian Express.

Teltumbde carried a reward of Rs 50 lakh for his capture, according to the report.

The police claimed to have killed two other top Maoists – Mahesh alias Shivaji Raoji Gota, a resident of Renadigutta village of Etapalli tahsil of the district, and Lokesh alias Mangu Podyam, a resident of Jagargunda village in Dantewada district of Chhattisgarh.

Both were members of the Gadchiroli divisional committee of CPI (Maoist).

Gota carried a reward of Rs 16 lakh while Podyam carried a reward of Rs 20 lakh for their capture.

The encounter began in the morning at Korchi in Mardintola forest area at a time when a C-60 police commando team was conducting a search operation, Gadchiroli district Superintendent of Police Ankit Goyal said.

Indian Express reported that 16 parties of the C-60 commandos with a total strength of over 500 carried out the operation.

The operation was launched after police larnt that a large number of Maoists are camping in the forest.

Apart from Teltumbde, the second-most senior cadre Prabhakar is believed to be present when the encounter occurred.

Prabhakar is the dandkaranya special zonal committee (DKSZC) member.

His bodyguard died in the encounter, but Prabhakar is believed to have escaped to safety along with about 75 others, the report said.

According to the report, at least 100 Maoists were present in the dense forest in a congregation.

Teltumbde, 58, was the senior most Maoist and a wanted accused in the Koregaon Bhima-Maoists links case.

He is the brother of scholar Anand Teltumbde, who had been arrested earlier in the Elgar Parishad case earlier.

Anand Teltumbde is currently locked in Taloja prison in neighbouring Navi Mumbai.

Among the 26 Maoists killed in the encounter, five were women, and four of them are yet to be identified.