Jharkhand: Maoist with Rs 10 lakh bounty killed in gunfight
Pappu Lohra, chief of a Maoist splinter group, and his associate were killed during an anti-Naxal operation conducted jointly by the CRPF and Jharkhand Police
Two Maoists, including Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) supremo Pappu Lohra who was carrying a bounty of ₹10 lakh on his head, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Saturday morning (May 24), police said.
"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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Maoist encounter continues
Lohra, the chief of the JJMP, a Maoist splinter group, and his associate were killed during an anti-Naxal operation conducted jointly by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Jharkhand Police, in a forest under the Latehar Police Station limits, a senior officer said.
The encounter comes three days after top Maoist leader Basavaraju was killed in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district. He was among 27 Maoists who were killed after a gunfight that lasted for over 50 hours and took place along the Narayanpur-Bijapur border.
Lohra was killed along with his aide, Prabhat Ganjhu, who was carrying a bounty of ₹5 lakh. Another member of the group, who was injured, has been arrested, and an INSAS rifle has been recovered from him, according to media reports.
Also Read: How Karregutta ops became the beginning of the end of Maoist leader Basava Raju
Police tip-off
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.
"As the Maoists spotted the security personnel, they fired targetting them, and the team retaliated," he added.