3 Naxals eliminated in Jharkhand encounter, AK rifles seized

Ranchi, July 19: Three Naxalites have been killed and arms and ammunition seized in an encounter with security forces in Lohardaga district on Thursday, officials said. They said the encounter broke out around 2:45 pm when a joint team of 158th and 214th battalions of CRPF and state police were out for operations in Bahegara village of Bagru area in the district.

 

Bodies of three Maoists, 2 AK-47 rifles and some ammunition have been recovered by the security forces.The Lohardaga district headquarters is about 74 km from the state capital here. A search operation was undertaken to look for more cadres, the officials said.

Recently, In Chhattisgarh, three CRPF personnel were martyred in an encounter with Naxals at Bijapur district. A girl was also killed after being caught in the crossfire. Police said the gun battle took place near Keshkutul village when a joint team of the CRPF's 199th battalion and state police was out on a patrol on motorcycles in the morning. Police said when the motorcycle-borne patrolling team was advancing through Keshkutul, it was ambushed by a group of armed rebels and a gunfight ensued.

Last month, five policemen were shot dead in an ambush by Maoists near Jamshedpur in Jharkhand. The attack took place when the policemen were patrolling a local market in Saraikela district, about 40 kilometres from Jamshedpur.

The Maoists, said to be two in number, also looted the weapons of the policemen. The location of the attack is close to the West Bengal-Jharkhand border. Two assistant sub-inspectors and three constables were circled by Maoists and shot dead, police said.