Six Maoists, including secretary of the People’s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCPA) Sidhu Soren and his girlfriend Bela, were gunned down in a fierce encounter in West Midnapore. One Cobra constable was also killed in the encounter. Officials suspect that at least one more Maoist has been severely injured in the encounter though he managed to flee.
Acting on specific intelligence, a joint team of the CRPF and special anti-Naxal force SAF launched the operation in the jungles of Metala and Koima in Goaltore police station area. After a five-hour long encounter, the security forces recovered six bodies. Five of the deceased Maoists were identified as Sidhu Soren, Bela Karmakar, Arjun, Rakhal and Sanatan. Among them, Sidhu was the convenor of the Sidhu Kano Gano Militia, the armed wing of the PCPA.
It was at 9.30 pm on Sunday night that the forces started mobilising from the Midnapore police lines. After travelling some distance in vehicles, the force of 100 personnel comprising two teams each of commando force and Cobra and 20 officials of the state police hit the road. The forces intentionally took a treacherous route not to arise suspicion. By 2.30 am, they cordoned off a tent deep inside Metala forest. They fanned across an area of 300-400 meters around the tent.
For the next half-an-hour, the forces silently inched closer towards the camp till one of the sentries posted outside the camp spotted the approaching force and opened fire. What followed was a fierce gunbattle between the forces and the Maoists. One of the Cobra constables Ashish Tewari died. “We lost one jawan in the encounter. He fought very bravely,” said superintendent of police Manoj Verma.