A Naxal commander, carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Jharkhand's West Singhbhum district on Sunday, police said. The slain Naxalite has been identified as Amit Hansda alias Aptan, a zonal commander with a reward of Rs 10 lakh.
The encounter took place in the Railapara forest near the Burjuwa hill under the Goilkera police station limits. The joint operation involved the district police and COBRA battalion, and led to the recovery of weapons, including an SLR rifle.
Encounter between Naxals and security forces
According to the officials, the Chaibasa police had received information about the presence of Naxalites in the Relaparal area of the Goilkera police station. Acting on the tip-off, a joint team of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a search operation in the morning. As forces reached the spot around 6:30 am, the Naxals opened fire, triggering a fierce gun battle.
The officer said that several Naxalites fled into the dense forests when the security forces were overwhelmed. Later, during the search operation by the security forces, the body of Hansda was recovered.
At present, the search operation is continuing, and security forces have cordoned off the surrounding areas to prevent the insurgents from escaping.
What did the officials say?
Officials said that the operation has been intensified after the information about the presence of Naxalites. This action is expected to affect the morale of the Naxalites. Kolhan Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Anuranjan Kispotta said, "An encounter between Maoists and security forces took place in the morning. A body was recovered during a subsequent search operation."
Inspector General of Police (Operations) and Jharkhand Police spokesperson Michael Raj S said, "The body was identified as that of Amit Hansda alias Aptan, a self-styled zonal commander of CPI(Maoist) who carried a Rs 10 lakh reward." He said that the search operation in the area is still going on.
(Input: Gangadhar Pandey)
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