Rourkela: A commander of banned People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) was killed in a police encounter in Jharkhand last night.

The deceased identified as Bijay Dang was a resident of Rayabaga police station area of Sundergarh district.

Sources said Dang was leading the banned Maoist outfit in Sundergarh district of Odisha and Simdega district in Jharkhand. Several criminal cases, including murder have been pending against him at various police stations in both the districts.

Acting on a tip-off, the Simdega police launched a combing operation in a forest at Jharia, 45 km away from Biramitrapur in Sundergarh at around 12 AM yesterday. Dang, who was hiding in the forest with his associates, died during the exchange of fire.

Dega had killed a cattle trader in in Raibaga area of Sundergarh and a BJP leader in Simdega in Jharkhand three months ago, source added.