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Journalism of Courage
Eight Naxalites were killed in an encounter with the Jharkhand Police in a forest area near the Chattisgarh border in Garhwa district on Monday night. Two of those dead have been identified CPI(Maoist) area commanders Basant Yadav and Lalanji – the two were the only ones in uniform.
“We are ascertaining facts about their background. So far nobody has come to claim their bodies,” said Garhwa SP Saket Kumar. As many as eight rifles, one SLR, one double-barrel gun, a pistol, 400 cartridges and a quintal of gelatin have been recovered from the site of the encounter.
Ashok Kumar, the Sub-Inspector who was led the security forces, said: “They fired on us. For two hours we fought a pitched battle,” As soon as the gunbattle started, an additional contingent led by the SP reached the spot. “Seeing that more forces had arrived, the remaining Naxalites fled from the spot,” added the SP.
This was the sixth encounter between the Naxalites and the police since January 1 – as many as 13 Naxalites have been killed. “We have gained an upper hand due to better coordination, team work and specific inputs about extremist hideouts and movement,” said DGP V D Ram. “Now, the villagers, too, have begun tipping us off about Naxalite movement,” said DIG R K Mullick, the Jharkhand Police spokesperson.
According to reports the CPI(Maoist), which has been at war with its splinter groups Jharkhand Liberation Tigers and Tritya Prastuti Committee, has been trying to revive its stronghold in the area. Recently, as many as 13 cadres of the splinter groups had been gunned down by CPI(Maoist) men in Latehar, Chatra, Palamau, Lohardaga and Ranchi districts. The police have also arrested about 22 cadres of the three groups since January 1.
