Security forces gunned down a Naxal commander, Amit Hansda alias Aptan, in an encounter near the Burjuwa hill in the West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand Sunday morning. The police said Hansda was a sub-zonal Naxal commander carrying a reward of Rs 10 lakh.
The Chaibasa police received intelligence inputs indicating the presence of active Naxal cadres in the area near Rela village, under the Arahasa panchayat, in the Goilkera block. Acting on the tip-off, a joint team of police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) launched a search operation.
According to the police, as the forces moved in, Naxalites opened fire, triggering a gun battle in which both sides exchanged heavy gunfire. Several Naxals managed to flee into the dense forest. However, Hansda, a resident of the Bokaro district, was killed on the spot, they said. The police also recovered a self-loading rifle.
In July, the Jharkhand Police said 17 people were killed and close to 200 people arrested in multiple anti-insurgency operations in the last six months. Among them were some leaders of various banned groups — including members of the Communist Party of India (Maoist), Tritiya Sammelan Prastuti Committee (TSPC), People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), and Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP).
