Day after Jharkhand attack: Maoist killed, another injured in encounter

ADG (Operations) RK Mallick said another Maoist has been seriously injured and it was suspected that he may have died, but a formal verification was yet to be conducted. One INSAS rifle has been recovered from the slain Maoist.

Security personnel carry the body of a colleague who was killed in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists at Budha Pahar, on Latehar-Garhwa border, on Wednesday. (PTI Photo)

One Maoist was killed and another injured in an encounter in Budha Pahar area on the border of Latehar and Garhwa districts on Wednesday, a day after six personnel of the Jharkhand Jaguar (JJ) force were killed and four others injured in a landmine blast triggered by Maoists in the same area.

ADG (Operations) R K Mallick said, “The personnel were on foot when the Maoists triggered the IED. There was no vehicle involved. It is dense jungle area, where Maoists have a stronghold. The risk is always there. However, our forces have retaliated bravely and one Maoist was killed in an encounter that took place in the same area, though the place falls under the Baresaadh police station area of Latehar district.”

READ | Jharkhand: Six Jaguar Force jawans killed in Maoist landmine blast

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Mallick said another Maoist has been seriously injured and it was suspected that he may have died, but a formal verification was yet to be conducted. One INSAS rifle has been recovered from the slain Maoist.

Meanwhile, the bodies of the six personnel were brought to the JJ headquarters here at Tender Gram from RIMS after a post-mortem. Chief Minister Raghubar Das reached the area and offered tribute to the personnel. He met the families of the deceased and consoled them. In a statement, he said that the sacrifice of the brave soldiers would not be allowed to go in vain. He said the government was committed to root out Maoism and issued directions to DGP DK Pandey to intensify the operations.

The six personnel have been identified as team commander Krishna Kumar Niyogi and constables Parmanand Chowdhary, Ajay Kujur, Kundan Kumar Singh, Ajit Odeya and Dev Kumar Mahato. They were returning from Long Range Patrol (LRP) on foot, when the IED was triggered near a school in Khapri Mahua village under Bhandariya police station area of Garhwa district. At least two INSAS rifles have gone missing, indicating that the Maoists looted the weapons.

The four injured have been identified as ASI Subhash Chandra Singh, Arvind Oraon, Ali Aarif Khan and Johnny Toppo. They were initially admitted to Sadar Hospital in Garhwa from where they were taken to Medica in Ranchi on board choppers for better treatment.

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Budha Pahar has been a Maoist stronghold largely due to its dense vegetation and irregular terrain. Tuesday’s incident was the first major blow inflicted by Maoists in the state on security forces after January 27, 2016, when five police personnel were killed in a landmine blast in Palamu.

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