The intensified movement of State Police Operation Karo-II will be continued till further orders as according to the police, rebels are still there in the dense jungles after getting located by the security forces.

According to Ranchi Range IG MS Bhatia, security forces have succeeded in some of the important arrests. Moreover, damages are also being done to the rebel groups through frequent encounters by the security forces.

“The operation is regularly being carried out in the jungles of Khunti, Simdega, Gumla and rural areas of Ranchi where we have also succeeded in making arrests of some hardcore rebels,” said Bhatia. It is basically a cat and mouse game where the rebels are being chased by the security forces continuously, added Bhatia.  

Bhatia, during a meeting with IG (Operations) Ml Meena, Ranchi DIG Praveen Kumar along with the SPs of five PlFI-affected districts here on January 12 had directed them to concentrate more on the encounters after identifying the movement of PlFI cadres during the operation.

Even on Thursday, heavy gun-battle took place between the security forces and the rebels for over three hours at Jilingkela under Arki Police Station in Khunti which continued for over three hours.

One hardcore PlFI rebel Shamshad alias Maulvi was also reported to be killed during a gun-battle with some unidentified gangs in Kedli jungles of Bero block near Ranchi. Maulvi, according to Bhatia was havoc in Karra-Bero belt.

David of Jainath Sahu gang also got arrested on Thursday from Bero area that had become a terror for the people living in the area.

PlFI commander Sona Ram Sundi, active in Ponto area of Chaibasa also got arrested with five sophisticated arms from Simdega while some other PlFI cadres also were arrested from Khunti as well.

Bhatia said Sundi was also involved in the abduction of the mining officers which took place recently in Chaibasa.

According to Khunti SP, the rebels getting benefit of terrain and topography of the jungles better known to them disappears in it which takes several hours to locate them again and the process continues.

“We are very much camping in the dense jungles carrying out search operations regularly sometimes intercepted by the rebels resulting into gun-battles,” said Khunti SP Anis Gupta.

Thursday’s encounter was the recent example of such incident which will be continued till the PlFI is completely finished from the area.

Gupta further added that they are getting proper support of additional security forces from the headquarters as per the requirement for carrying out operations as and when they get input of some movements of the rebels in a particular area.

As many as 10 companies of security forces of Jharkhand Jaguar, CRPF, JAP and state police have been deployed in Khunti, Rania, Torpa, Karra and Murhu jungles near the State Capital. Extensive search operations are being conducted to finish the PlFI menace from the area.