Muhammed Nayeem Uddin, a Naxalite turned gangster, was killed in the Shadnagar Millenium Township in Mahbubnagar, Telangana after police exchanged fire with members of his gang.
The gangster Nayeem, involved in killing some top former Maoists, was hiding in the house in Millennium Township in Shadnagar in Mahabubnagar district, about 50 km from Hyderabad.
The operation began Monday morning when police were conducting searches in the town.
Armed policemen surrounded the house, following a tip-off about presence of the gangster
Nayeem, a native of Bhongir town in Nalgonda district of Telangana had a long criminal record numbering close to 100 cases filed against him in various police stations, including a number of cases of land-grabbing and extortion, and more than 20 cases of murder.
After he came out of the fold of the then People's War Group (PWG), Nayeem turned a gangster. He allegedly became a covert operative for police and eliminated several top Maoists and their sympathisers, according to sources.
He was the main accused in the murder of gangster Patola Goverdhan Reddy in Boggulakunta in Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad in December 2011. Earlier in the year, he was linked to the murder of surrendered ex-Naxalites Sambashiva Rao and Ramulu. Prior to that, he was also accused in the murder of IPS officer KS Vyas at LB stadium in Hyderabad in 1993. He was also was an accused in the murder of civil rights activists Purshottam and Niranjan and folk singer Belli Lalitha among others.
He was also suspected to have helped police in catching Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife who were later killed in an alleged "encounter" by Gujarat Police in 2005.
The gangster had escaped from police custody 11 times.
(With inputs from IANS)