Calcutta, Nov. 24: The operation in West Midnapore’s Burishole forest today in which Maoist leader Kishan is suspected to have died was led by district police chief Praveen Tripathi and the superintendent of the Counter-insurgency Force (CIF), Manoj Verma.

The security forces that zeroed in on the Maoist guerrillas comprised COBRA commandos, CIF men, two battalions of CRPF jawans and district police personnel.

“It was a precision job that was carried out perfectly with brilliant leadership,” a senior officer tracking the operation said. “At no point did the senior officers lose their cool and the entire operation was executed in a very professional manner,” he added.

Insiders said the three suspected Maoists arrested following yesterday’s raid in Lalboni village in Kushboni forest, 3km from Burishole, had told the police during interrogation that a man and a woman, who were being guarded by several well-armed men, were present in the village for the past few days. This led the police to suspect that the duo could be Kishan and Suchitra, the widow of slain Maoist leader Sashadhar Mahato.

Senior officers, including Tripathi, DIG (Midnapore range) Vineet Goyel, Jhargram additional superintendent of police Alok Rajoria and commanding officer of the 184th CPRF battalion Ravindra Bhagat, held a meeting around 10 this morning to decide on the next course of action. “Tripathi said all villages adjoining Lalboni would have to be combed. If this did not yield any result, the Burishole forest would have to be searched as well,” an officer said.

Raids were conducted in four villages and some maps were found. The officers then planned to circle the Burishole forest by forming five rings comprising the security forces and then closing in.

It was also decided that more forces from Jhargram and Midnapore town would be brought in. The police lines in Midnapore and Jhargram were immediately informed and senior officers were asked to ensure that the forces were mobilised fast so that the plan could be executed within a few hours.

Once the forces entered the dense forest, Tripathi and Verma decided that the area of operation would be reduced and the core of the “formation” would comprise COBRA commandos.

The ring just after the core formation was manned by CIF personnel. “The third and fourth rings consisted of CRPF jawans from the 184th and 167th battalions. State police personnel made up the outermost ring,” an officer said.

“The team was working for over 24 hours and it was very important to keep the motivation level high and the mind cool,” he added.

Armed with AK-47s, AK-56s and mortars, the personnel started combing the forest and reducing the gap between the successive rings. It was decided that there would be no unnecessary firing.

“Around 3.30pm, there was firing on the forces from inside the forest, prompting a retaliation. Once the troops realised that the guerrillas were within the target zone near the border of Binpur and Jamboni, the personnel fired the mortars,” the officer said.

The COBRA commandos fired at the targets from close range. An encounter ensued, leading to Kishan’s suspected death.