Bijapur: A 48-year-old villager was killed in an encounter between a joint team of security forces and the Naxalites in a forest near Gundam on Wednesday. However, the villagers said the deceased identified as Punem Lakhmu war running towards the forest after hearing gunshots and eventually got killed in police firing.
Police said, acting on an information about the presence of some armed Naxalites in the forest, a joint team of DRG, STF and Cobra jawans were sent for the search operation in the Gundam Chutwai forest under Tarrem police station. The deceased, a resident of Gundam village, was reportedly running from his house towards the forest after hearing the sound of firing, when he was caught in the Naxalite ambush. His body was brought from Gundam village to the district hospital for postmortem. Police are investigating the case.
ASP Chandrakant Gavarna said, "The encounter took place between 4 and 5 am on Wednesday in the Gundam Chutwai forest under Tarrem police station. Yesterday, we were informed that a man who was running towards the forest got killed during this confrontation."
Villagers alleged it was a fake encounter. Villagers said there was no encounter between the naxals and the police. They alleged that the man was killed in police firing. Lakhmu's son Punem Santosh and nephew Punem Hunga said a contingent of security forces reached the village at around 3 am and the sound of gunshots created panic among the villagers.
At that time, the deceased was sleeping in his house located in Kusum Para. On hearing the commotion, he woke up and ran towards the forest. The security forces, who were in the forest, opened fire and Lakhmu was killed, they alleged.
Read also: 213 IED bombs, 900 cartridges and dozen rifles recovered from Naxal hideout in Jharkhand
Police claimed naxals were shot. ASP Gavarna said some people were found moving suspiciously at the spot during a search operation that was conducted after the encounter. During interrogation, it was revealed that Udham Singh, the commander of Naxalites' South Bastar Division and his associates had fired towards the security forces. However, taking advantage of the dense forest and the darkness, the Naxalites escaped. Two to three Naxalites are likely to have been shot, police said.
