India, Sept. 11 -- Senior Maoist commander and central committee member Modem Bala Krishna, 64, was among the 10 people killed in a fierce gun battle with security forces in Chhattisgarh's Gariaband district on Thursday, state police officers said.

Bala Krishna, also known as Balanna, Ramachandar and Bhaskar, joined the movement in 1983 and was considered one of the longest-serving figures in the CPI (Maoists). He was currently the secretary of the Odisha State Regional Committee (ORSC) and a member of the party's Central Committee.

Inspector General of Police, Raipur Range, Amresh Mishra said the operation was started on Wednesday night following intelligence inputs about the presence of a central committee member and his team in the j...