30-yr-old Maoist commander, who murdered three of family, killed in encounter

During the search operation in the afternoon, an encounter ensued between the police and the Maoists in the forests of Pusnar in which Jan militia commander Potam alias Somlu was killed. Potam had a reward of Rs 1 lakh by the government on his arrest.

“There is a strong possibility of three to four other Maoists getting injured in the encounter,” said Anjneya Varshney, the Superintendent of Police of Bijapur district.

Potam allegedly had led a gang of 10-12 Maoists who abducted and murdered Dula Punem, 45, on April 25 on suspicion of being a police informer. On August 3, Potam’s gang abducted and murdered Punem’s wife Mangali, 40, and daughter Shanti, 18, after which their bodies were thrown in the river. After the murders, the police had offered another Rs 40,000 on his arrest.

Potam was a wanted accused in multiple cases of murder, murder attempt, attack on police party and involvement in improvised explosive device (IED) attacks.