Ranchi/Latehar: The Latehar Police on Saturday killed three Naxalites after an encounter broke out between them and TSPC militants in the forests near Heselbar village here. The dead Naxals have been identified as TSPC zonal commander Jitendra Yadav and Chanchal Singh, while the third one remains unidentified. However, so far no administrative official has confirmed the incident.
According to the received information, the Jharkhand police had received anonymous inputs confirming that a group of TSPC militants is active in the border area of Latehar and Manika police station. Acting on these inputs, the police raided the forests, and while on a search operation in the forest, had an encounter with the TSPC Maoists. The ultras reportedly opened fire first, while the police also fired back in retaliation, consequently killing three of them. Two other militants are also said to have been shot and injured in the incident.
The police officials also informed that many from the militant squad tried to escape the encounter site after the shootout broke out. Taking advantage of the dense forest around the area, they managed to flee from the spot. The police were, however, able to confiscate several weapons including a gun from the nearby areas. An investigation has been launched to trace the remaining Naxalites as well as to identify the slain ones with continuous patrolling beefed up in the area and a large number of additional police forces dispatched towards the spot.
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