SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 21: Six Naxals, including Arvind Yadav—carrying a reward of ₹10 lakh—were killed in a joint operation by the CRPF and CoBRA teams in the early hours of Monday. The encounter took place in the Lugu Pahar area of Lalpania, under Jageshwar Vihar police station area, approximately 73 km from the Bokaro district headquarters.
A large cache of arms and ammunition was recovered from the site where the Naxals were neutralized.
Early Morning Operation
According to police officials, the encounter began around 4:30 am after intelligence inputs indicated the presence of Naxal operatives hiding in the Lugu Pahar terrain, possibly planning a major strike in the region. In response, a joint team of the CRPF and Jharkhand Police launched a search operation.
During the operation, an encounter broke out, resulting in the deaths of six Naxals. Several others are believed to have sustained serious injuries. Officials noted that the death toll could rise as the operation was still ongoing at the time of reporting.
Senior Officials Monitor Situation
Bokaro Range DIG Surendra Kumar Jha and Superintendent of Police Manoj Swargiyari visited the site and are personally overseeing the continuing operation.
Officials said the final count of deceased Naxals and the full inventory of recovered weapons and ammunition will be confirmed only after the search concludes.
This marks the first time that six high-profile Naxals have been killed in a single encounter in the North Chotanagpur division of Jharkhand, signaling a major success for security forces in their ongoing anti-Naxal campaign.
