Maoist carrying Rs 1 cr bounty on head among 3 rebels killed in gunfight in Jharkhand

Ranchi: Three Maoists, including one carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Hazaribag district on Monday morning, police said.

The encounter broke out in the Pantitri forest under the Gorhar Police Station limits around 6 am between the squad of Sahdev Soren of the banned CPI (Maoist) and security forces, a senior officer said.

"The bodies of Sahdev Soren, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, and two other Maoists have been recovered during the search operation," Jharkhand Police IG (operations) and spokesperson Michael Raj S told PTI.

He said that Sahdev alias Prawesh was a central committee member of the proscribed CPI (Maoist).

The two others killed in the operation were identified as Raghunath Hembram alias Chanchal and Birsen Ganjhu, he said.

"Raghunath was a special area committee member of the organisation and carried a Rs 25 lakh reward on his head, while Ganjhu was a zonal committee member carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head," the IG (operations) said.

Several weapons were recovered from the encounter, another officer said.

Based on an intelligence report, a joint operation, comprising CoBRA, Hazaribag and Giridih police personnel, was carried out in Pantitri forest along the border of Bokaro and Giridih districts, he said.

"As the joint forces reached the forest, Maoists started firing at them, and the security forces retaliated. Three Maoists were killed during the gunfight," the police officer said.

The search operation is still underway, he said.

This was the second gunfight incident between red rebels and security forces in Jharkhand in the past two days.

On Sunday, a self-styled sub-zonal commander of the banned Maoist splinter group Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), Mukhdev Yadav (40) alias Toofan ji, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Palamu district.