Maoists with ₹10 lakh and ₹5 lakh bounties killed by security forces in Jharkhand

Two Maoists, including Pappu Lohra—the chief of the Maoist splinter group Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) and a wanted man with a ₹10 lakh bounty—were killed in an encounter with security forces in Jharkhand’s Latehar district on Saturday morning, police said.

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According to a senior officer, the operation was part of an anti-Naxal crackdown jointly carried out by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Jharkhand Police in a forest area under the jurisdiction of the Latehar Police Station, PTI reported.

MoS Defence Sanjay Seth said, “...An encounter with Naxalites began at 6 am in the rural areas of Latehar. Pappu Lohra and another Naxalite have been killed in the encounter. He (Pappu Lohra) had a reward of ₹10 lakhs on him.”

He added, “One police Jawan, Awadh Singh, has been injured, but he is completely out of danger... Maoism is breathing its last in the entire nation... As per the resolution of Home Minister Amit Shah, the nation will soon be free from Naxalism…”

“Two Maoists were killed in a gunfight with security forces. The police have recovered their bodies,” Palamu DIG YS Ramesh told PTI.

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The police said the bodies of Lohra and another person, whose identity is yet to be ascertained, have been recovered.

One dreaded member of the group, who was injured, has been arrested, and an INSAS rifle has been recovered from him, sources told PTI.

Acting on a tip-off that Lohra and his associates were in the forest, a team of security personnel led by Latehar Superintendent of Police (SP) Kumar Gaurav launched a search operation, the police officer said.

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"As the Maoists spotted the security personnel, they fired targeting them, and the team retaliated," he added.

(With inputs from PTI)