After a month's lull in violence ravaged Kandhamal, suspected Maoists on Wednesday gunned down a local Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader sparking fresh tension in the area.

RSS leader Dhanu Pradhan, who was said to be on the Maoists' hitlist, was gunned down by three suspected extremists at Kumarigaon village under Brahmanigaon police station area in Kandhamal at around 1300 hrs, sources said.

The Maoists had earlier claimed that they killed Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Swami Laxamananda Saraswati on August 23 which sparked communal violence in the state.

"We have information that a person has shot dead, but we are yet to confirm on the identity of the victim and the killers," deputy inspector general (Southern Range) R S Koche told PTI over the phone.