At least 27 Maoist have been killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Bastar region, officials said on Wednesday, with sources claiming that top Maoist leader Basavaraju was among them.

A member of the District Reserve Guard (DRG), a unit of state police, was also killed in action while some others sustained injuries, police said. Security forces achieved “historic success” during the encounter as a top Maoist leader was eliminated, a senior police official said without giving more details.