In one of the most successful encounters of recent times, the security forces at Ranjha jungle in Salboni, West Midnapore gunned down eight armed Maoists and even succeeded in recovering their bodies. Usually, Maoists ensure that police does not lay its hands on bodies of their comrades felled by police bullets. The dead include three women.
They were all members of the squad led by Maoist leader Bikash and his wife Tara, both of whom managed to flee from the gun battle, though unconfirmed reports claim that Tara had been hit by a bullet. Sources reveal that she is expecting her first baby. A huge cache of arms and ammunition has also been recovered from the spot. One Maoist was arrested.
“This is one of the biggest successes that we have had in the Jangalmahal. In the past one year, we have killed and recovered the bodies of 12 Maoists. This is for the first time that as many as eight bodies have been recovered after one encounter,” said SP West Midnapore Manoj Verma, who was leading the force early on Wednesday morning.
The eight bodies were identified as those of Mala, Laxmi, Basanti, Sagar, Shyamal, Raghav, Arjun and Turai. “We suspect that 12 of them were killed in the encounter but eight bodies have been recovered. It is a big achievement for us and the Centre is also happy,” said DGP Bhupinder Singh.
Based on a specific tip-off that this squad was active in villages like Baromeshia and Duli, adjoining the Ranjha jungle, a contingent of over 120 security personnel comprising personnel of district police, CRPF and COBRA adopted a three-pronged strategy. Reports claim that 80 squad members were camping in the area.