Three Maoists were killed and two injured in an anti-naxal operation on Jharkhand-Bihar border in Giridih district on Friday night. The operation was conducted jointly by 7th battalion of Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and district police in Nayanpur PS under Giridih district.
The para-military forces and police confiscated one SlR, one piece of .305 and .315 rifle each besides, several rounds of live cartridges in the post gun battle search operation conducted in the wee hours of Saturday. The gun battle started at 11.30pm on Friday and continued till midnight. The three naxals killed in the operation conducted near Daldalia forest near lokai under Nayanpur PS includes Dinesh Pandit, Jeebal Murmu and Sahdev Rai.
According to Anurag Gupta, spokesperson of Jharkhand police, large stains of blood was found on ground zero and arms were recovered in the post fight search operation. Police have recovered all the bodies and are continuing their operation to gather further leads of Maoists who use the area as a safe place due to its geographical location and safe passage to the neighboring state of Bihar.
On a tip-off that naxals are assembling in the forest to hatch a plan and carry out an attack, a joint team of CRPF and Giridih police was formed to ambush naxals. Giridih SP G Kranti Kumar said, Maoists opened fire on the search team and then the team retaliated which resulted in the death of three ultras while two have sustained severe injury.
Police claimed that the toll of naxals could be more than three considering the scale of operation conducted by the special team and that the body would have been carried away by fleeting ultras. We suspect that quite a few naxalites were killed in the encounter and their bodies were taken away by their comrades, added the SP.
“After the encounter, which lasted for more than four hours, police found blood –soaked clothes, blood stains, sleepers, and empty shells of self –loading bullets in fields. Raids are continuing in the area and efforts are being made to recovere the more bodies of the killed Maoists,” said IG (Operations), Murari lal Meena.