Two Maoists, including a woman, were killed following an encounter with security forces in Upperghat area of Bermo subdivision, Bokaro district of Jharkhand on Wednesday. Two policemen were also injured in the incident.
Preliminary investigations have identified the slain Naxals as Shanti (area commander) village Chatro, police station Khukhura, district Giridih and Manoj, village- Dhavatar, police station- Pirtand, district- Giridih, which is being further verified. Security personnel have intensified anti-Naxal operations in Jharkhand for the past few days.
The clash took place in the dense forests of Banshi and Jarwa, under the Naxal-affected Penk Narayanpur police station jurisdiction.
The operation was launched based on information from the Intelligence Bureau. The bodies of the two Naxals, an AK-47 rifle and two Insas rifles were recovered from them.
The woman Naxalite killed in the operation is believed to be the wife of Ranvijay Mahto, a notorious Naxalite with a Rs 15 lakh bounty on his head. Mahto had been arrested just a day earlier in Chandrapura. The operation remains ongoing, with security forces working to neutralize the remaining Naxalite threat.
Following Mahto’s arrest, the Bokaro Superintendent of Police (SP) received intelligence about a six-member armed Naxalite group hiding in the forests of Jarwa and Banshi. Acting swiftly, a joint operation was launched involving the Jharkhand police and the Cobra 209 battalion to locate and eliminate the threat.
The Inspector General of Police (IG – Operations) disclosed that the Naxalites were plotting a major attack. Advanced weaponry, including firearms, was recovered from the group, signaling the severity of their intentions.
The operation, led by Jharkhand Police in coordination with 209 CoBRA Battalion, was backed by accurate intelligence inputs from the Intelligence Bureau and local authorities that six hardcore Maoists were hiding in the Banshi Jirwa forests.
As soon as the joint team of security personnel reached there, the Maoists started firing on them.
Responding to that, the security forces also fired back in retaliation leading to heavy firing from both sides. Two policemen are reported to be injured in this encounter. The security personnel have cornered the Maoists from all sides and combing operation is on to locate the Maoists.
This strategic effort also resulted in the recovery of a significant cache of weapons, including an AK-47 and two INSAS rifles.
Authorities are currently analyzing the seized firearms and working to gather further intelligence to strengthen their ongoing efforts against Maoist activity in the region.
This is one of the biggest encounters in the country as a Central Committee (CC) member of the banned Maoist organization, Jai Ram alias Chalpathy, has been killed. Usually central committee members either die a natural death or rarely get arrested. Killing a CC member in an encounter is a big achievement,” SP Rakhecha had told the mediapersons.