RANCHI: Top Maoist leader Tulsi Bhuiyan was killed during a 12-hour encounter with police in an anti-Maoist operation in the Naiya forests of Palamu's Mahudanda Panchayat. The gunfight began around 7 PM on Monday and continued into Tuesday morning.
Police sources informed that the dead body of the Maoist, along with a Self-Loading Rifle, has also been recovered from the spot.
Police officials also believe that another Maoist, Nitesh Yadav, having a bounty of Rs 15 lakh on his head, has also received bullet injuries during the encounter.
Maoist Nitesh Yadav leds a squad od more then half a dozen cadres, including Sanjay Godram, having a reward of Rs 10 lakh on his head. Nitesh has posed a major challenge for both Jharkhand and Bihar police for the last one and a half decades.
According to police sources, after receiving a tip-off that Nitesh Yadav and his squad were spotted near the Mahuadanr picket and were planning to carry out a major Maoist incident, Palamu SP Rishma Rameshan launched a search operation in the area after forming a joint team of Jharkhand Jaguar and CRPF.
During the search operation, the Maoists started firing on the security forces as soon as they reached the spot on Monday evening. The security forces also fired in retaliation, killing Tulsi Bhiyan in the encounter.
Top officials, including Palamu SP Rishma Rameshan, are monitoring the situation by camping in the jungles. Palamu SP informed that the search operation is still going on in the area. Detailed information will come out after the search operation, she said.
“One Maoist has been killed while search for other Maoists of the squad is being conducted. The security forces have cordoned off the area and started a search operation,” said SP Rishma Rameshan was quoted as saying.
Notably, the area where the encounter took place is considered by the Maoist squad as their safe hideout as the entire region is is surrounded by hills. It is adjacent to the borders of Bihar and the Maoists often sneak into Bihar after committing crimes in Palamu.