Bokaro/Ranchi, July 16: A Maoist, carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, and a CRPF jawan were killed in a gunfight in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district on Wednesday morning, police said.
A civilian was also killed after being caught in the crossfire. Police had earlier identified him as another Maoist.
The gunfight broke out between the security forces and the Maoists in the Birhordera forest in the Gomia police station area around 5.30 am, they said.
Jharkhand DGP Anurag Gupta said that acting on specific inputs, CRPF and the district police conducted a raid in the forest.
“An exchange of fire took place between Maoists and security forces, in which a dreaded Maoist, identified as Kunwar Manjhi, was killed. He was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head,” he said.
Gupta said the deceased CRPF jawan was identified as Parneswar Koch, a resident of Kokrajhar in Assam.
He said an AK-47 rifle was recovered from the spot, and the search operation is still going on.
Gupta said 95 per cent of Jharkhand’s Naxal problems have been eliminated.
“Since January, over 20 top Naxals have either been killed or arrested or have surrendered,” he said.
The mortal remains of the CRPF jawan were brought to Ranchi, where a wreath-laying ceremony was held.
Jharkhand Governor Santosh Kumar Gangwar and state’s top officials, including chief secretary Alka Tiwari, paid floral tributes to the mortal remains of the jawan at CRPF’s 133 battalion headquarters in Ranchi.
The governor said, “A braveheart jawan has sacrificed his life. We are with the family of the jawan.”
“Such kinds of incidents have declined in Jharkhand, and we have decided to eliminate it completely by this year itself,” Gangwar said.
Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren condoled the death of the jawan.
“I am deeply saddened by the tragic news of the martyrdom of Constable Praneshwar Koch Ji of the CRPF 209 Cobra Battalion. May Marang Buru grant peace to the departed soul of the martyr and provide strength to the grieving family to bear this painful moment,” Soren posted on X.
The body will now be sent to his home, a police officer said.
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma condoled the death of the CRPF jawan.
He said the people of Assam salute his sacrifice.
“We will always be there to support them (his family) and this sacrifice will not go in vain as our forces unleash their power to eliminate naxalism from the face of the earth,” he said. (PTI)
