Hazaribagh/Ranchi, Jan. 4: A special task force (STF) team and district police jawans today gunned down a self-styled Maoist sub-zonal commander and four others this evening.

Hazaribagh superintendent of police Pankaj Kamboj confirmed the exchange of fire and admitted recovery of the body of Babulal Munda alias Marandi, also known as Ramanji, the sub-zonal commander.

Few other bodies, however, were taken away by the rebels who had escaped because of poor visibility in the evening, Kamboj said.

According to sources, the police suddenly chanced upon information that a Maoist meeting was being held in Baish Resham forest area, nearly 30km from the district headquarters. Naveen Manjhi, a rebel zonal commander, was leading the meeting with 30-members of their hit squad that comprises Marandi.

Kamboj immediately constituted a team of officers, including Satish Jha, Sanjeev Singh and Arun Kumar, besides deputy superintendent of police Mani Lal Mandal. The team, led by Kamboj, reached the Baish Resham forest, known for strong rebel presence. The team reached the spot where the Maoists were planning an attack but a few of them sighted the men in uniform and opened fire. In retaliation, the police team also started firing and in this exchange of bullets, Marandi was killed.

Kamboj said they suspected that at least four Naxalites, too, had been killed as there was a lot of blood at the site. The police also recovered a pistol of Marandi and two batteries. Kamboj said that the recovery of batteries indicated that the rebels had planned to trigger landmine explosions somewhere.

Meanwhile, Mahadeo Oroan, an STF constable, sustained serious injuries during an hour-long encounter at Kusaha forest under Manatu police station of Palamau. Oroan was later airlifted to RIMS by a state helicopter. Palamau superintendent of police Udayan Singh said that the encounter took place between 12 noon and 1pm. “We fired more than 700 rounds while the rebels shot more than 1,000 rounds,” he said.

Singh expressed his inability to pinpoint the exact figure of the injured and dead. Singh said that the condition of the injured jawan was improving.