Four Maoists, including two women cadres of the Madhya Zone of CPI (Maoist) were today killed in an encounter with security forces at Malanga Pahar under Chhatarpur police station of Palamu district. Security forces recovered two SlRs, 5 magazines, 219 bullets, 8 cell phones, back packs, uniforms, naxal literature and eatables.
According to CRPF, the encounter started at 8.50 on Monday morning, which lasted for just 20 minutes. A team of 134 battalion of CRPF alongwith State Police team was holding a search operation in the Malanga Pahad area on a tip off of Rakesh Bhuiyan hiding with 20 others. A communiqué from CRPF stated that the Maoists attacked the security forces during the search operation and the forces had to return the fire. A fierce encounter continued for about 20 minutes and when the forces overpowered the Maoists, they fled the spot. After the encounter, forces recovered bodies of two male and two female Maoists identified as Rakesh Bhuiyan, lalloo Yadav, Ruby Kumari and Rinki Kumari. Bhuiyan was the sub zonal commander of the CPI (Maoist) and his squad of Madhya Zone had 20 cadres.
CRPF said that this is the second encounter with Madhya Zone squad of Maoists led by Rakesh in just 18 days. The first encounter with this Madhya Zone squad was on Feb 8. Sources said this encounter too proved a big disaster for the Maoists as they lost their area commander whose body the security forces recovered along with 8 weapons of the Maoists.
IG, CRPF, Jharkhand, Sanjay Anand lathkar visited the spot after the encounter and encouraged the forces. He said that it was one of the big achievements of the joint forces of CRPF and State Police and this was the right time the Madhya Zone could be finished completely. The February 8 encounter proved a turning point for the Maoists as in this encounter they lost their cadre called Guardian, girl cadre recovered by security forces and 8 weapons seized and big of all one Maoist Rajinder Bhuiyan who ran away after this encounter of February 8 finally reached police here in Daltonganj and surrendered.
Photographs of the killed women cadres showed their bangles intact. Sources said Rakesh Bhuiyan’s ‘dasta’ was behind the arson of three road making equipments in Chhatarpur where on Rs 45 crore worth road these three road making equipments were burnt down.