Maoist hideout raided, eight killed

Top rebel leader believed killed during the six-hour encounter in West Bengal forest

June 16, 2010 08:11 am | Updated November 28, 2021 09:08 pm IST - KOLKATA

At least eight Maoists, including three women, were killed in an encounter when security force personnel raided a forest hideout in the Salboni block of West Bengal's Paschim Medinipur district early on Wednesday.

Director-General of Police Bhupinder Singh said here that though only eight bodies were recovered, “we have unconfirmed reports of another four Maoists killed.”

It is suspected that the rebels carried away four bodies while fleeing, he added.

Superintendent of Police Manoj Kumar Verma claimed that it was one of the most successful operations in the region since the crackdown on the Maoists began a year ago.

There was no casualty among the security forces.

The security personnel arrested an injured Maoist and recovered a huge cache of firearms, explosives, landmines and Maoist literature.

According to Mr. Singh, both the State police force and commandos of the Central Reserve Police Force's Combat Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) surrounded a Maoist camp in the Ranja forest following a tip-off. “The rebels opened fire on the forces and the latter retaliated. A gun battle ensued and continued for almost six hours following which the remaining Maoists fled the spot,” he said.

The police are yet to establish the identity of the arrested Maoist.

Police sources said that five of the eight Maoists killed were been identified as Arjun (a close associate of rebel leaders Bikash and Tara), Sagen, Mala, Radha and Lakshmi (who is suspected to have played a major role during the massacre of 24 Eastern Frontier Rifles jawans at Silda on February 15).

Intelligence inputs

The sources said that based on intelligence inputs received from the Jharkhand police, it was suspected that top Maoist leader Akash was also killed during the encounter.

An AK-47 rifle, an SLR rifle, more than 150 rounds of ammunition and four pistols, besides 100 detonators, 30 gelatine sticks, explosives, wires and batteries were recovered.

Mr. Verma said the AK-47 rifle and the SLR rifle were among the several sophisticated weapons looted from the EFR's armoury at Silda on February 15.

According to police sources, the security forces raided the area three days ago also but the Maoists escaped.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.