A CRPF team combing Lakharia forest region in Bihar’s Jamui district nabbed three hardcore Maoists, including a woman, suspected to be involved in the encounter in which a Commandant was killed on Friday morning.
The Naxals were identified as Mini alias Rina, wife of top Maoist commander Siddhu Koda, Raju Soren and Madhav Soren, they said.
One rifle, a country-made pistol, 45 kilograms of explosives and several uniforms used by the Naxals were seized from them, DIG CRPF Chiranjeev Prasad said.
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Commandant Hari Kant Jha, who was the second-in-command of CRPF base in Jamui, was killed during an anti-Naxal operation on Friday in the forest region.
Few Naxals have been injured in the encounter in which Jha was killed, the DIG said, adding that they were hiding in Jatajore forest area and CRPF’s combing teams were making efforts to nab them.
Meanwhile, CRPF IG in Jharkhand RK Mishra, also holding the additional charge of CRPF IG of Bihar, visited Jamui to take stock of the situation and oversee arrangements made to handover Jha’s body to his family.
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The body of the slain CRPF officer was brought to the Khaira police station in Jamui district and dispatched to Dhanbad, where his family lives.
“It was an inter-state operation involving Jamui and Giridih district police along with the CRPF. The police had received intelligence about the Naxals-presence in Lakharia forest and we provided the manpower,” Mr. Mishra said.
CRPF officials said a total of nine companies of armed personnel - four from Bihar and five from Jharkhand - took part in the operation early this morning in the forest area close to the Bihar-Jharkhand border under Jha’s leadership.
“Jha was valiantly leading his team. They (CRPF) chanced upon a few huts in the forest and started searching for the Naxals and it was then when the Naxals opened heavy firing on them... Jha was hit by bullets and died,” CRPF officials said.