Jharkhand: Six personnel of CRPF’s elite CoBRA battalion were injured in a bomb blast following an encounter with the banned CPI (Maoist) in Tumbaka forest of Naxal-affected West Singhbhum district of Jharkhand on Wednesday. A senior police officer gave this information here.
However, none of them was seriously injured and they were taken to a hospital in Ranchi, said Ashutosh Shekhar, Superintendent of Police, West Singhbhum. Left-wing extremists carried out the blast when the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), its Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), Jharkhand Jaguars of the state police and the District Armed Police personnel were conducting an anti-Naxal operation in the forest. , They said. When the security forces advanced, the Left Wing Extremists opened fire on them. After this, the security forces had to retaliate and the Naxalites, who were forced to retreat, blew up. The SP said that a massive combing operation is being conducted to nab the extremists.
Shekhar said police in West Singhbhum district have been conducting operations against Left Wing Extremists in Naxal-affected areas for the past several weeks, due to which many people were forced to lay down their arms.
Those who surrendered to the police include eight extremists believed to be close to top Maoist leader Misir Besra, who carries a reward of Rs 1 crore on his head.
Police has appealed to youths who have joined Left Wing Extremism to lay down their arms and take advantage of the government’s surrender and rehabilitation policy.