India's left-wing Naxal rebels killed a civil militia leader in the central state of Chhattisgarh on Monday, said a local daily Tuesday.

The Naxals opened indiscriminate fire Monday in Chhattisgarh's restive Bastar region, killing a prominent civil militia leader, a local daily in Raipur, state capital of Chhattisgarh, reported.

The killing took place in Bijapur district, some 480 km south of Raipur, when the victim was returning to his village from a police station.

"The Maoists were dressed in civil uniform and pumped several bullets into Lachhuram Kashyap," a police official was quoted as saying.

Kashyap was a key Salwa Judum, leader of Mirtur and was on the hit-list of the rebels for past five years.

Salwa Judum was launched in June 2005 in Naxal strongholds in Bastar to counter the rebels, sharply increasing the number of killings of both civilians and policemen in the region.