The encounter took place near Jhargram town after the joint forces surrounded Bandarboni, Cheraboni and Tetuldanga areas last night following a tip-off that Maoists had taken shelter there, police sources said.
A CRPF personnel and a Maoist were killed in an encounter, an elderly woman was shot dead by the ultras while the joint forces arrested two rebels and seized a huge quantity of gelatin sticks and detonators during raids in West Midnapore district.
The encounter took place near Jhargram town after the joint forces surrounded Bandarboni, Cheraboni and Tetuldanga areas last night following a tip-off that Maoists had taken shelter there, police sources said.
The Maoists fired on the joint forces who retaliated, the sources said.
The bullet-ridden body of a CRPF personnel and a Maoist were found from Bandarboni during a search today, the sources said. Arms were also seized from the spot.
People's Committee Against Police Atrocities spokesman Jaideb Mahto claimed that the encounter was 'fake' and eight villagers were killed by CPI-M cadre, while 100 others were missing.
In protest against this, he said, a 48-hour bandh has been called from from tomorrow in junglemahal.
At Salboni, Maoists who came looking after deputy village head of Lakshmanpur panchayat, Biswanath Mahato, shot dead his mother, Dulali, when they could not find him, police sources said.
In a major operation yesterday, the joint forces seized a huge quantity of gelatin sticks, detonators and rifles in raids on two areas of the district.
The seizures, which were the largest since the anti-Maoist operations were launched by central paramilitary forces and the police on June 19 last year, included 803 gelatin sticks, 1000 detonators, 20 kg of explosives, ammonium nitrate and four rifles, SP Manoj Verma said.
The seizures were made during raids yesterday at Tapoban and Kamrangi forests in Nayagram and Lalgarh.
Two hardcore Maoists Sukdeb Soren and Jubaraj Murmu were also arrested during the raids, Verma said.
Sukdeb is a self-styled Maoist deputy commander and an expert in planting IEDs. He also extorted money and stole motorcycles for use by Maoist cadre.
Yesterday, Maoists had blown up a building housing the office of the Krishak Sabha and set fire to a community hall in a village in Jhargram subdivision.
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