Giridih, Nov. 25: An area commander of the CPI(Maoist) was shot dead in an hour-long battle between Naxalites and a joint team of police and CRPF jawans at Pirtand today.

Nunulal Soren, alias Kawang Da, involved in more than 12 criminal cases including murders, received three bullets while he was trying to help out a Maoist squad from his area.

Soren successfully managed to get his team out of the area before he died.

“Yesterday night after receiving an information about a Naxalite squad trying to cross Harladih, a company of CRPF jawans and Pirtand police were dispatched to the area,” said superintendent of police M.L. Meena.

Naxalites kill two

A 20-member team of Sangharsh Janmukti Morcha, a Naxalite outfit, shot two payload operators — Vakil Khan (20) and Raju Rajak (30) — at a coal dumping yard in the Khelari police station area of Ranchi district. The group also set the payloader on fire.

The murders, police believe, was committed to pressurise company owner Laxman Tekmani to pay levy to the group, instead of CPI(Maoist).