Patna, May 9: A jawan belonging to the Special Auxiliary Police force was shot dead after he dared to take on 65 horse-bound suspected Naxalites with 10 of his colleagues, at Saharsa village this morning.

Singh suffered fatal bullet injuries in his neck and chest. Saharsa police said SAP jawan Arjun Singh (43), a resident of Madhubani, was on the forefront during the encounter with the ultras at Chikni village under Chiraiya police station along Saharsa-Khagaria border. The suspected Maoists took away the jawan’s uniform and his Insas rifle.

The officer-in-charge of the Kanaria outpost, Madan Mahto, received reports of ultras hiding in Chikni on Wednesday morning. Soon, a team of five Home Guards and as many SAP jawans, led by Mahto, raided the village. The police, however, had not anticipated that there would be 65-odd Naxalites hiding out, who had also anticipated some sort of police move. .

While talking to The Telegraph the Saharsa superintendent of police, Kunwar Singh, said: “The area adjoining Khagaria is rebel-prone. Though our force launched an offensive against them, we lost an able SAP jawan.” The encounter, which started around 8 am, continued till 10. The Maoists retreated after police forces from neighbouring areas started closing in.