Two hardcore Maoists, carrying a collective bounty of Rs 13 lakh, have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, police said on Wednesday.

The gunfight took place on Tuesday evening in a forest of Kilam-Bargum villages along the border of Kondagaon and Narayanpur districts, Inspector General of Police, Bastar Range, Sundarraj P said. Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard (DRG) and Bastar Fighters, both units of the state police, from Kondagaon were involved in the operation, he said.