Ranchi: Four dreaded Maoists, including commander Sahdev Mahto, who carried a Rs 15 lakh reward on his head, were killed by security forces in an encounter on the Chatra-Hazaribagh district border on Friday, officials said.
This is believed to be a major success in the ongoing anti-Maoist operations in the state.
Jharkhand Police Headquarters officials said that the action was carried out following precise intelligence inputs from the Intelligence Bureau (IB) regarding the presence of a Maoist squad in the area.
Acting on the information, joint teams of local police and security forces launched a cordon-and-search operation in the area.
The Maoists opened fire after they were cornered by the security forces, prompting retaliatory action by the security personnel. After several hours of intense exchange of fire, four Maoists were killed on the spot. Some others are suspected to have been injured.
During a search operation after the encounter, security forces recovered two AK-47 rifles, other country-made and sophisticated weapons, Maoist literature, daily-use items, and a large cache of ammunition from the site.
Mahto, one of those killed, was considered the mastermind behind several major incidents in the region.
Meanwhile, in another operation, security forces have surrounded a Maoist squad in the forests of Chadaradera near Baliba village under the Chotanagra police station area in Jharkhand’s Saranda region. All escape routes have been sealed, and aerial surveillance is also being carried out to locate the Maoists.
Reports suggest that the squad may include Maoist Misir Besra, who has a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head, and the number of Maoists present there could be over 100.
Chaibasa Superintendent of Police (SP) Amit Renu said the search operation in the Saranda forest is still underway, and detailed updates are awaited.
Notably, six security personnel have been injured in IED blasts and firing incidents in the West Singhbhum region in the anti-Maoist operation over the past three days.
(IANS)
