Maoist carrying Rs 1 cr bounty on head among 3 red rebels killed in gunfight in Jharkhand

Three Maoists, including one carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Monday, police said.

Two security personnel were also injured in the encounter but are reported to be out of danger.

The encounter broke out in Pantitri forest under the jurisdiction of Gorhar police station around 6 am between the squad of Sahdev Soren of the banned CPI (Maoist) outfit and security forces, a senior officer said.

''The bodies of Sahdev Soren, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, and two other Maoists were found during the search operation,'' Jharkhand Police IG (operations) Michael Raj S told PTI.

He said that Sahdev alias Prawesh was a central committee member of CPI (Maoist).

The two others killed in the operation were identified as Raghunath Hembram alias Chanchal and Birsen Ganjhu, he said.

''Raghunath was a special area committee member of the organisation and carried a Rs 25 lakh reward on his head, while Ganjhu was a zonal committee member carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head,'' the police officer said.

Several weapons, including three AK-47 rifles and 63 cartridges, were seized from the encounter spot, another officer said.

Sahdev was wanted in 30 cases, Raghunath in 58 cases and Birsen in 36, according to a police statement.

Acting on a tip-off, a joint operation was carried out by a team comprising CoBRA, Hazaribag and Giridih Police personnel in Pantitri forest along the border of Bokaro and Giridih districts, he said.

''On spotting the security personnel, the Maoists opened fire at them. Three red rebels were killed during the ensuing gunfight,'' the police officer said.

Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta, who visited Hazaribag on Monday, termed it a ''big achievement'' for the state police.

''Two of our jawans have been injured in the incident, but they are out of danger,'' Gupta told reporters.

He said that the deceased Maoists were involved in killing a dozen policemen, and also in the murder of Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi's son. They had also looted 183 rifles from the police.

''After this incident, Naxalism has been completely eradicated from Bokaro range. Some Maoists remain in Saranda area of Chaibasa and operations are underway against them. As many as 29 red rebels have been killed since January 1. We urge Maoists to either surrender or face the consequences,'' the DGP said.

Among the 29 Naxalites killed in gunfights, 21 belonged to the CPI (Maoist), two to the Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), five to the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) and one to the People's Liberation Front of India (PLFI).

Besides, 20 Naxalites surrendered before the police and joined the mainstream of society, while 16 others were arrested and sent to jail, he said.

The DGP said Lugu and Jhumra areas of Bokaro district, Parasnath area of Giridih have been completely freed from the Maoist dominance due to a series of operations conducted against them.

This was the second gunfight between Maoists and security forces in Jharkhand in the past two days.

On Sunday, a self-styled sub-zonal commander of the banned Maoist splinter group TSPC, Mukhdev Yadav (40) alias Toofan ji, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Palamu district.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)