Security forces gun down Maoist in Jharkhand's in West Singbhum district, seize huge cache of arms

A Maoist cadre was killed and a huge cache of arms recovered following a fierce encounter between security forces and Naxals inside Tholkobera forest between Chaibasa and Khunti in West Singbhum district of Jharkhand on Friday morning.

According to the sources in Jharkhand, acting on a tip-off, a joint operation was conducted by a team comprising 94 Battalion of the CRPF and Jharkhand Police.

“There were movements of Maoist cadres in this location. Based on a tip-off, a joint operation was conducted in the early hours of today. An encounter took place between the troops and Maoists. As a result, a Maoist got killed and others fled,” the source said.

According to CRPF, the body of the slain Maoist was recovered besides a cache of arms and ammunition which include two double-barrel guns, two AK 47 magazines, a .315 bore rifle, ammunition of AK 47 and bore rifle, more than 10 mobile phones, Aadhar cards and bank passbooks, electrical gadgets etc.

Prior to this operation, two encounters had taken in April and June in Jharkhand.

In the April encounter inside the forest of Belbha Ghat area in Giridih district, one CRPF personnel and three Maoists were killed. An AK 47 rifle was recovered along with ammunition.

On 19 June, a Maoist was killed in an encounter with CRPF and district police force at Urmi forest in Simdega district.

Prior to this, Maoists had gunned down five policemen at a weekly market in Seraikela-Kharsawan in Jharkhand and looted their weapons. Following this incident, both Central and state security forces stepped up its action against the Left Wing Extremists.