Ranchi: Pappu Lohara, chief of the banned Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP) – a breakaway faction of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) – was killed in an encounter with security forces in the Ichabar forests of Latehar, in Jharkhand, on Saturday morning. His close aide Pappu Ganjhu was also killed.
While Lohara carried a bounty of Rs 10 lakh, Ganjhu had a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head. According to sources, another Maoist was injured in the encounter and has been taken into custody. It has also been claimed that 24 cadres surrendered to the police.
A police constable Awadh Singh was also injured during the exchange of fire and has been admitted to the Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences in Ranchi.
Officials said that the operation was carried out under the leadership of Latehar SP Kumar Gaurav, following a tip-off indicating that a group of Maoists was hiding in the forests and planning to execute a major attack in the region. Acting on this intelligence, the police cordoned off the area and commenced a search operation.
During the search, the Maoists opened fire on the joint team of security personnel. The forces retaliated, resulting in the deaths of Lohara and Ghanju.
Palamu DIG Y S Ramesh confirmed that the bodies of the two Maoists had been recovered, and a search operation is ongoing in the area.
Security forces have intensified operations against the JJMP in recent days. The outfit is known to be behind several Maoist-related violence in Jharkhand.
Amol V Homkar, IG (Operations), Jharkhand, called the operation a major success for security forces. “In Jharkhand, Maoists are now limited to a very small area. They have been evicted from all their major strongholds,” he added.
This comes days after dreaded Maoist leaders Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju and 26 of his squad were killed in an encounter in Chhattisgarh. He carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore.