India, June 5 -- Sudhakar, a senior leader of the banned CPI (Maoist) and a central committee member (CCM) who had taken part in peace talks with the Andhra Pradesh government 21 years ago, was killed in an encounter in the forests of Bijapur district on Thursday.

After the encounter, security forces recovered a body along with an AK-47 rifle, arms, ammunition, and explosives, and later identified it as Sudhakar - one of the highest-ranking Maoist leaders operating in central India, who carried a bounty of Rs.1 crore.

Born in Pragadavaram village of Chintalapudi mandal in Andhra Pradesh's Eluru district (formerly West Godavari), Tentu Lakshmi Narasimha Chalam alias Goutham alias Sudhakar studied at CR Reddy College in Eluru and later en...