A member of the banned CPI (Maoist), who was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Monday, a senior police official said.
Another red rebel was arrested during the operation, he said.
The encounter between security forces and Maoists broke out in a forest in Dauna under the Mauhadand Police Station limits on Sunday night, he said.
"Manish Yadav, who was carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was killed in the gunfight with security forces. Another Maoist, Kundan Kherwar, was arrested," Palamu DIG YS Ramesh told PTI.
Kundan is stated to be carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head.
However, Ramesh said that the reward on Kundan's head is yet to be verified.
The operation was conducted barely two days after two Maoists, including JJMP supremo Pappu Lohra, who was carrying a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head, were killed in an anti-Naxal operation by security forces in the district.
On May 24, Lohra, the chief of the proscribed Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), a Maoist splinter group, and his associate Prabhat Ganjhu, the sub-zonal commander of the organisation, were killed during the operation.
Ganjhu was carrying a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head.
The joint operation was carried out by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the Jharkhand Police in the Ichabar forest area under the Latehar Police Station limits.
Lohra was wanted in 98 cases, including murder, extortion, and arson, across several districts such as Lohardaga, Gumla, Chatra, Palamu, and Latehar.
Ganjhu was wanted in 15 cases, according to Ramesh.
Both were allegedly involved in the killing of Jharkhand Jaguar deputy commandant Rajesh Kumar during an operation in September 2021.
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