Security forces shot dead three Maoists overnight in an operation in Kailali district in far west Nepal, Radio Nepal said quoting police sources.

The encounter took place at Darakha village. The dead included Kaluram, Kishuram and Madiram Tharu. Security forces recovered guns, bombs and explosives from the clash site.

The decapitated body of CPN-UML activist Ram Bahadur Tamang was found by the roadside at Kakakuti in Dolakha Friday after his abduction by rebels from his home last Tuesday, the party said.

He was hacked to death with a khukri after his hands and legs were tied.