Ranchi: A joint team of security forces neutralised a member of Tritiye Sammelan Prastuti Committee [TSPC], a banned Maoist outfit, following an exchange of fire in Jharkhand’s Palamu district on September 14. The killed Maoist was identified as Mukhdev Yadav, a key aide of notorious TSPC operative Sashikant Ganjhu.
Yadav was gunned down in an encounter that broke out between security personnel and Naxals under the jurisdiction of Mantau police station limits of Palamu on Sunday morning.
The gunfight started when a joint team comprising of personnel from Commando Battalion for Resolute Action [CoBRA], Jharkhand Jaguar and police was out on a search operation.
Yadav a seasoned Maoist was named in multiple cases and said to be involved in the killing of two police personnel in Palamu’s Keydaal area on September 3. He was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head.
Two security personnel were martyred while another jawan had sustained injuries in a fierce exchange of fire that broke out between security forces and ultras belonging to banned TSPC on September 3.
The gunfight broke out in Keydaal forest area under the jurisdiction of Mantu police station of Palamu district which led to martyrdom of two police personnel. The martyred jawans were later identified as Sant Kumar and Sunil Ram.
The encounter occurred when a joint operation was launched in Keydaal area after police received intel related to the presence of notorious Maoist commander Shashikant Ganjhu, a key operative of the TSPC group.
A Jharkhand based Maoist group, TSPC came into existence in 2002 after breaking away from Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI), which later merged with the People’s War Group to form CPI Maoist in 2004.
The state of Jharkhand is home to multiple breakaway factions of outlawed CPI [Maoist] such as People’s Liberation Front of India [PLFI], Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad [JJMP] and TSPC.
Security forces in recent years have achieved notable successes in containing the Maoist insurgency in Jharkhand. Only two districts in the state remained affected by Maoist terror, as per a release issued recently by the Union Government.
