Varanasi: Jharkhand-based banned Maoist outfit Tritiya Prastuti Committee's (TPC) chief Brijesh Ganjhu alias Gopal Singh Bhokta was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Varanasi on Sunday morning, officials said.  

Ganjhu carried a cumulative bounty of Rs 30 lakh announced by the Jharkhand government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to information shared by security agencies, the encounter took place at around 5 a.m. near Tengra Mod in the Ramnagar police station area of Varanasi. 

The UP ATS had received intelligence that Ganjhu was travelling on a motorcycle via Ramnagar towards Mughalsarai, following which a team laid a trap in the area.

Police said that when ATS personnel signalled him to stop, Ganjhu opened fire on the team. ATS officers retaliated, and Ganjhu sustained bullet injuries in the exchange of fire. He was taken to a district hospital for treatment, where doctors declared him dead.

ATS Deputy Superintendent of Police Vipin Rai said that bullets fired by Ganjhu struck the bulletproof jackets of both him and Head Constable Nitendra Krishna during the encounter. One of Ganjhu's associates managed to flee the spot.

The ATS recovered two pistols, live cartridges and spent shells from the scene. The body has been kept at the post-mortem facility of Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in Varanasi.

A resident of Lawalong in Jharkhand's Chatra district, Ganjhu had long figured on the wanted lists of security and investigative agencies. The Jharkhand government had announced a reward of Rs 2.5 million for information leading to his arrest, while the NIA had separately declared a reward of Rs 500,000.

He was wanted in several cases related to murder, extortion, illegal arms activities and terror funding across Jharkhand and other states. The NIA was also searching for him in connection with a terror-financing case linked to the TPC.

Investigators alleged that he played a key role in a levy-extortion network targeting businesses associated with coal mining, transportation and contracting operations.

Following his death, security agencies in Jharkhand have begun reviewing records about cases registered against him and his alleged involvement in Maoist activities.