Jharkhand: Naxal-police encounter in West Singhbhum, several rebels believed to be injured

KUMUD JENAMANI

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Jamshedpur, Dec 7: While police and paramilitary forces were carrying out anti-insurgency in the Kolhan forest division, they encountered a big squad of Naxals at Chhotanagra under the Jeraikela Thana area on Thursday.

The encounter which lasted for over an hour left several Naxals injured though the injured rebels were believed to have been carried away by their comrades in the dense jungle.

West Singhbhum SP, Ashutosh Shekhar has in a press statement said that they had got an intelligence input that a large squad of Naxals was anchored at Chhotanagra forest for getting some sinister plan executed while marking the 23rd anniversary of PLGA’s formation.

The squad was reportedly inclusive of Misir Besra, the notorious Naxal leader who carries a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head.

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As the police and paramilitary forces were scanning the forest stretch, suddenly they were rained with shots, prompting them to retaliate.

The encounter continued for about over an hour while there was drizzling in the dense forest. But as the firepower of the paramilitary was far greater than the Naxals, the latter backtracked and fled the spot, taking advantage of the forest cover.

According to the Superintendent of Police, while carrying out a search operation post-encounter, the police and paramilitary forces discovered a Naxal camp in the Chhotanagra jungle itself.  The police got the camp, adequate enough to accommodate about 50 inmates, destroyed. But before razing the camp the police recovered arms and explosives from there.

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