RANCHI: Top PLFI commander Shravan Das was injured in a fierce encounter between the police and PLFI ultras under the Jariagarh police station limits in Tilmi forest of Khunti.
The injured commander has been arrested and admitted to the hospital for treatment under police custody.
A massive search operation is underway in the area following the encounter. According to police sources, at least six other squad members of Shravan Das have also been arrested following the encounter.
Police sources informed that Khunti SP had received a tip-off that PLFI commander Shravan Das was active in the Karra police station area.
"Acting on the information, a special operation team was constituted under the SP's instructions," they said.
During the operation, security forces came across the extremists in the Tilmi forest, who opened fire on them indiscriminately.
In retaliation, the police also fired back, during which Shravan Das was injured and was subsequently arrested by the security forces after being cornered.
Khunti SP Rishabh Garg has confirmed the arrest, saying that four pistols, several country-made guns and over a dozen live cartridges were recovered from the arrested militants.
Additionally, several incriminating documents were found at the spot.
“The most significant recovery is a diary containing the mobile numbers of various local contractors and details regarding planned criminal activities,” said the SP.
"The diary will prove crucial in dismantling the organisation's network," he said. Injured commander, Shravan Das, has been referred to Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (RIMS) in Ranchi for advanced medical treatment following initial first aid.
The SP noted that Shravan Das had become a figure of terror in the Torpa and Karra areas.
He faces charges in multiple serious cases, including firing at a railway construction site, arson and extortion. He had long been on the police's wanted list and is also charged under the PCA (Prevention of Crime Act).
Currently, the police are conducting a search operation in the forest to apprehend other individuals linked to the gang.
