Top Maoist remains elusive,Jharkhand DGP joins hunt

Arvind Singh,who has several aliases but primarily known as Arvindji,is from Sukul Chak village of Bihar’s Jehanabad. He was the leader of the team that ambushed security forces at Latehar’s Katiya forests,killing 11 personnel. The incident is now infamous for planting of IEDs in the bodies of two slain personnel.

The CRPF and police had been tracking his team since Arvindji’s entry from Bihar for 21 days prior to the Latehar incident. There were reports that he had since moved to Gumla; this week’s operation has confirmed his presence.

While DGP Rajiv Kumar was unavailable for comment,police spokesperson Richard Lakra said he joined the operation to get first-hand information about anti-Naxal operations. Kumar took charge on February 28. “The DGP was in Gumla for two days. He will also be visiting Latehar and Palamu,” said Lakra.

“The DGP was at the operational site with other police officers and CRPF officials. He spent time with forces,even walked along with them,” said a top officer. Kumar reached Gumla on the last day of the operation,a day after Jaguar personnel Manoj Bakhla became the sole casualty of the operation.

The operation is significant as the forces also rescued two personnel,Brajesh Licha and Bikram Roy,from Maoist captivity after a prolonged gunfight. The Maoists used them as human shields and kept the police team away for long. Gumla SP Jatin Narwal,who led the operation,told The Indian Express that “the two policemen were trapped inside for 24 hours”.“Our forces showed remarkable fighting spirit,ensuring there were no more casualties. We deactivated 30 landmines and recovered 12 handguns,” he said.

An officer said theforces claimed to have seen the bodies of eight Maoists. But Arvindji yet again managed to frustrate the forces. With ENS,Raipur