Six Maoists and a policeman were killed and another policeman was badly injured in a fierce encounter in a forest in Jharkhand’s Latehar district on Thursday, the police said. The police also claimed the number of dead Maoists could be 13.
Security forces belonging to the CRPF, Cobra battalion and the Jharkhand police exchanged gunfire with the Maoists for several hours after surrounding an area in the Karamdih jungles in Latehar’s Barwadih area, where about over 100 Maoists had reportedly got together for a meeting.
A jawan from the Cobra battalion succumbed to gunshot injuries at the Daltonganj hospital. The injured jawan who was flown away by helicopter from the encounter site is said to be stable at the Apollo Hospital in Ranchi.
Police intelligence also confirmed that the Maoists had died, but their bodies have not been recovered so far. The security forces had entered the forests of Latehar three days ago and caught the Maoists unaware on Thursday, the police said.
Palamu IG Deepak Verma confirmed the death of six Maoists, though the police did not have the bodies of the dead men, and claimed the casualties in the Maoist side could be more. Villagers in the forested area reportedly saw the Maoists fleeing with the dead bodies of their cadres. Combing operation in the area, which started in the forenoon, would continue for a few more days, said Latehar SP Kranti Kumar Gardeshi.
Meanwhile, Dinesh Gop, a top leader of the outlawed People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) wanted in connection with several violent incidents, was arrested in Khunti district on Wednesday after a raid in a village.