Three suspected members of the outlawed Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), a splinter group of the CPI (Maoists), were killed in encounter with the police in Bendi forest area of Latehar district on Monday.
Latehar superintendent of police Anjani Anjan said the incident occurred around 4 pm, and the identity of the slain Maoists are yet to be ascertained.
“The encounter happened during a combing operation based on an intelligence input about the presence of a JJMP group. Three ultras have been killed in the exchange of fire with a small action team (SAT) of Latehar district police. Besides, the bodies of the three ultras, two Insas rifles and one self-loading rifle, apart from ammunition, have also been recovered from the spot,” Anjan said.
The identity of three deceased and their possible hierarchies in the organisation has still not been established as the combing operation in the forest area is still on, the SP said.
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This is the second such encounter in the district this year after three members of the Tritiya Prastuti Committee, another splinter group of the Maoists, were gunned down in encounter with security personnel in April.
Earlier, the state police was also able to access and install a permanent camp atop Burha Pahar, spread over Latehar and Garhwa districts, considered to be a bastion of the Maoists.
