ROURKELA:Jharkhand police on Sunday gunned down three members of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) in an encounter in Kulatoppa forest near Girda under Bano police limits in Simdega district of Jharkhand, about 25 km from Sorda in Sundargarh district.
Jharkhand police said acting on a tip off about presence of PLFI group led by PLFI chief Dinesh Gope, personnel of Simdega police, Jharkhand Jaguar Special Task Force and CRPF moved to the spot. Watching the police team, the PLFI operatives started firing and in retaliation, the police fired 250 to 300 rounds in the encounter that lasted for about one hour and a half hours.
Simdega SP Rajiv Ranjan Singh, who visited the spot to take stock of the situation, said prima facie it appeared that PLFI members Akash, Martin and Radha were killed in the encounter and identity verification was being done for confirmation. The PLFI chief also received gunshot injury, he said adding that entire area has been sealed and search operation is on to flush out the remaining PLFI members.
The seizures included a modified AK 47 rifle, a Light Machine Gun, a carbine and five backpacks.
The Jharkhand-based PLFI, a splinter group of Maoist outfit, is engaged in criminal extortion. It is the second largest banned outfit in Jharkhand after the CPI (Maoist). The bordering pockets of Sundargarh district are badly affected by the PLFI activities.