Hazaribagh: Three activists of the banned Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) were killed in an encounter with police and all the three abducted bank officials were rescued in Gomio police station area in Hazaribagh district on October 7 night, Superintendent of Police (SP) Anurag Gupta said.

Acting on a tip-off, police raided the Gomio forest area where the encounter took place in which three extremists were killed in the exchange of bullets. Police also rescued the three abducted bank officials, the SP said.

The extremists also detonated landmine during the encounter but none was injured. Only a police vehicle was blown up in the blast.

Gupta said around 25 MCC men armed with sophisticated weapons stormed the Banaso branch of the bank, took the officials - R K Maheshwari, manager, R K Sinha, deputy manager and A K Hembram, another official hostage and broke open the strong-room of the bank spraying bullets on October 7.

They forced the officials to board a vehicle and fled away with a cash of Rs three lakh from the strong room.

PTI