CRPF jawan killed, another injured in encounter with Maoists in Jharkhand

CRPF Jharkhand IG V K Birdi said, “We lost one jawan today after he sustained gunshot injuries on his chest and thigh. The security forces were in the Kolhan area for the operation on August 8 and August 9. Today, i.e. August 11, we were chasing the Maoists in their core area and they got trapped. There was an exchange of fire and two of our jawans sustained bullet injuries. They both were airlifted to Ranchi for treatment. However, one of them lost his life. The other one is stable.”

Sources said top leaders of the banned CPI (Maoist) group, including Misir Besra who has a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head, and their squads were continuously traveling in Kolhan, prompting the Jharkhand Police and the CRPF to conduct operations in the area.

“On August 9, near Rerdakocha forest under Tonto police station, there was a direct encounter between security forces with the core team of Misir Besra, the top leader of banned Naxalite organisation CPI (Maoist) operating in Jharkhand. This encounter took place after five years. The cadre members ran away taking advantage of the jungle and mountains. A huge quantity of ammunition and items of daily use were recovered during the advance search operation,” a police source said.

According to the source, the joint security team demolished 11 bunkers at different areas in the forest, and recovered ammunition and daily use materials were found the next day. “However, on August 11, another encounter took place between Husipi and Tilaybeda villages for about half an hour. During the encounter, constables Munnalal Yadav and Sushanta Kumar Khuntia of 80th Batallion CRPF sustained gunshot injuries. They were airlifted to Ranchi. However, Khuntia succumbed to his injuries and doctors declared him dead upon arrival.

Earlier this year, five Maoists, including one with a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head, were killed in an encounter with Jharkhand Police and the CRPF in the border area of Palamu and Chatra districts. Last year in September, Home Minister Amit Shah announced that Maoists were uprooted from Buddhapahad area — a hilly terrain at the junction of three districts in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh — which until then was considered a CPI(Maoist) fortress.

According to the police, the security forces had received information that a group of Maoists had their hideout in the Palamu-Chatra border area. Accordingly, Cobra 203 of the CRPF, Jaguar (Jharkhand Special Task Force) and Palamu-Chatra’s districts’ police force started an anti-Naxal operation and security forces had an encounter with Maoists in the Lavalong area of Chatra and Dwarika area of Palamu on Monday morning.
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