Chaibasa:

At least four Maoists, including a woman, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Monday, officials said.

The encounter broke out around 5 am near Lipunga area under Gua police station limit, around 200-km from Jharkhand’s capital Ranchi, they said.

“Four Maoists were killed in the gunfight, while two have been arrested,” Jharkhand Police spokesperson and IG (Operations), Amol V Homkar, told PTI.

Homkar said that one INSAS rifle, two SLRs, three rifles (.303) and one (9mm) pistol were recovered during the search operation.

Later briefing media persons, he said that the killed Maoists were identified from the primary sources as zonal commander Kande Honhaga, a resident of Thalkobad in Chaibasa and he was carrying a bounty on his head, sub-zonal commander Singrai alias Manoj, a resident of Jaigur police station area in Chhattisgarh, area commander Surya alias Munda Devgam and a woman cadre Junga Purty alias Marla.

According to police sources, Singrai was carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh, Kande Rs 5 lakh and Surya Rs 2 lakh.

Singrai and Kande were IED experts in the organization. Singrai was tasked to lay and monitor IEDs in the area, the IG said.

The Maoists, who were arrested, were identified as area commander Tiger alias Pandu Hansda and Batri Devgam, he said.

Homkar said that police got a tip-off that some Maoists including Ajay Mahto, Kande and Singrai from the squads of CPI (Maoist) politburo member Misir Besra and central committee member Anal gathered near Lipunga forests to carry out some major incident.

“On the basis of the input, security forces comprising Chaibasa police, CoBRA 209, Jharkhand Jaguar and CRPF carried out a joint search operation. When the team reached the area around 5 am, Maoists attacked the search team. In self-protection, security forces also resorted to firing. The gunfight continued for about an hour,” Homkar said.

As the gunfight was over, security forces searched the area and recovered four bodies along with arms and ammunition including sophisticated weapons.

“Two Maoists who were trying to escape were arrested by the security forces,” he said.

Homkar said that Kolhan and Sarnda are considered the only bastions of the Maoists in the state. “Due to continuous operations by security forces, Maoists have shrunk to only a few places. Police were able to check their activities from all its major pockets such as Buda Pahad, Chatra, Latehar, Gumla, Lohardaga, Ranchi and Parasnath,” he said.

Terming it a “historic” achievement, Homkar asked the Maoists to surrender before the police under the state government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Gadchiroli (Maharashtra):

Three Maoists, including two females, were killed in an encounter with security forces in Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on Monday, police said.

An intelligence input was received that some members of the Perimili Dalam of Maoists were camping in a forest near Katrangatta village in Bhamragad taluka with an aim to carry out subversive activities during their ongoing Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) period, Superintendent of Police Neelotpal said.

Two units of C-60 commandos, a specialised combat wing of the Gadchiroli police, were immediately sent for a search in the area, he said.

While the teams were carrying out the search operation, Maoists fired at them indiscriminately, to which the C-60 personnel retaliated, the official said.

After the firing stopped, the bodies of a male and two female Maoists were recovered from the spot, he said.

One of them was identified as Vasu, in-charge and commander of the Perimili Dalam, the official said.

An AK-47 rifle, a carbine, an INSAS rifle, Maoist literature and items were also found at the spot, he said.

The anti-Maoist operation was underway in the area, the police added.

Maoists undertake the TCOC from March-June to strengthen their cadres and launch major attacks on security forces as forests are devoid of green cover, thereby increasing visibility. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Raipur:

In a major anti-insurgency operation, eight Maoists were killed in an encounter with security personnel in Bijapur district of Chhattisgarh today, the police said.

Bijapur district comes under the Bastar Lok Sabha constituency, which will go to polls in the first phase of Lok Sabha elections on April 19.

The gunfight took place at around 6 am in a forest near Lendra village under Gangaloor police station area, when a joint team of security personnel was out on an anti-Maoist operation, Inspector General of Police (Bastar Range) Sundarraj P told PTI.

Personnel belonging to the District Reserve Guard, Special Task Force, Central Reserve Police Force and its elite unit Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) were involved in the operation, he said.

After the exchange of fire stopped, the bodies of four Maoists along with a light machine gun and other weapons were recovered from the spot, he said.

Later, four more bodies were found at the encounter site, the IG said, adding that search operation was still underway in the area.

Notably, Maoists carry out the Tactical Counter Offensive Campaign (TCOC) in the summer season between March and June every year and step up their activities. A large number of attacks on security forces have taken place in the Bastar region during this period.

On March 27, six Maoists were killed in an encounter with security forces in Basaguda area of Bijapur, police earlier said.

With the latest incident, 41 Maoists have been killed so far this year in separate encounters with security forces in Bastar region, comprising seven districts including Bijapur, according to police.

Bijapur:

A local leader of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was shot dead by Maoists in Chhattisgarh’s Bijapur district on Wednesday, a police official said.

The victim, Kailash Nag, a construction contractor by profession, had given his JCB machine for a pond digging work in his village, he said.

This was the eighth killing of a BJP leader or member by Maoists in affected areas of the state in the last year.

The latest incident took place at around 5 pm in Bhurripani village under Jangla police station limits, the official said.

A pond digging work was underway in the village by the state forest department and a JCB machine of the victim Nag, a local BJP leader, was engaged in it, he said.

As per preliminary information, a group of Maoists reached the work site set the JCB machine on fire and fatally shot Nag, the official said.

Nag was a construction contractor by profession and an officer-bearer of ‘Vyapari Prakosth’ (traders cell) of the BJP in Bijapur district.

Last week, a local BJP leader, Tirupati Katla, was killed by Maoists in Toynar village in Bijapur district when he had gone to attend a wedding there.

Ahead of the Assembly polls in November 2023, Ratan Dubey, the BJP’s Narayanpur district unit vice-president, was hacked to death while he was campaigning. On October 20 last year, BJP worker Birju Taram was shot dead at Sarkheda village in Mohla-Manpur-Ambagarh Chowki district.

In June 2023, a local BJP leader was killed by Maoists in Bijapur district, while in February last year three leaders of the saffron party were murdered in separate incidents in the Bastar division, a Maoist hotbed.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Latehar:

At least four vehicles were set on fire and employees of a private firm assaulted at a railway construction site by members of the banned CPI (Maoist) at Chandwa in Latehar adjoining Ranchi border on Monday evening, police said.

The incident occurred near Chatti river bridge within Chandwa police station limits, they added.

Police said a group of Maoists reached the site and burnt three heavy vehicles and an SUV and assaulted the employees.

Police reached the spot and started an investigation.

The incident occurred exactly a month after six vehicles were set on fire and two employees of a private road construction company were assaulted by members of banned CPI (Maoist) in Palamu district.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)