Maoist killed in encounter with Bihar STF, AK 47 recovered
Lakhisarai police chief Sushil Kumar said blood stains found at the encounter site indicated that many other Maoists might have been either injured or killed in the face-off but were possibly dragged inside the forest by other ultras
A Maoist was killed in an encounter with the special task force (STF) in Bihar’s Lakhisaari district, located around 147 km from the state capital Patna, late on Saturday evening, police officials said on Sunday.
The encounter took place around 10pm in the forest and hilly areas of Pidi Bazar police station. The killed Maoist was identified as Pramod Koda, whose body was recovered from Lathia Pahari on Sunday morning along with an AK47 rifle, police said.
Additional director general (operation) Sushil M Khopde said Lakhisarai police launched a search and rescue operation following information that some Maoists were hiding in the forest area of Bhagatpur after abducting the son of a PDS (public distribution system) dealer.
“At around 10pm, the STF team came under heavy firing by the Maoists and fired back in self-defence,” said Khopde, adding that one Maoist was killed in the exchange of fire that lasted for about one-and-a-half hours, following which, the rebels escaped into the forest. Search operations have been intensified in the area to trace the abducted person, the official said.
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Lakhisarai police chief (SP) Sushil Kumar said blood stains found at the site indicated that many other Maoists were either injured or killed in the face-off, but their colleagues must have managed to drag them inside the forest.
Earlier on February 11, a Maoist was gunned down in an encounter with the SSB (Sashastra Seema Bal) in Lakhisarai district.
According to Khopde, this was the third encounter with the Maoists in the last 10 months, during which six Maoists have been killed so far. On March 16, security forces killed four Maoists in an encounter at Chakarbandha Hill falling under Dumaria police station of Gaya district.
