Raipur: A Maoist commander carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh, identified as Rupi, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Kanker district of Chhattisgarh. Police gave this information on Monday.The firing took place in a forested area under Chhota Bettiah police station limits.Acting on specific input about the presence of Maoists, security personnel launched an operation in the area, which led to gunfire.According to Superintendent of Police Nikhil Rakhecha, the body of the Maoist commander along with weapons has been recovered from the encounter site.Security forces have intensified search operations in the surrounding forest areas to ensure that no other terrorists are hiding nearby.Early last month, two Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces during an anti-Naxal operation along the Indravati river belt in the insurgency-hit Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh.The operation was launched by a joint team based on specific intelligence about the presence of Maoists in the Indravati river area in Jangla area. There was an exchange of fire between security forces and Maoists during a search operation in the forest area.Bijapur SP Jitendra Yadav said that after the encounter, bodies of two uniformed Maoists were recovered from the spot during the search operation. The security forces also seized a cache of explosives and other Maoist material as well as weapons including an SLR rifle, an INSAS rifle and a 12-bore rifle.(with agency input)