Bengal, Jharkhand police launch anti-Maoist Maoist op in Ghatshila

Jamshedpur: East Singhbhum and West Bengal police have jointly launched an inter-state combing operation in the Maoist den of Ghatshila subdivision following intelligence reports about presence of hardcore rebels in the forest areas along the border between the two states.
Launching off the operation on Tuesday, the home district police informed that intelligence reports about the presence of Sachin Ji and Rahul Ji, the two Maoist squad leaders identified by their aides, have prompted the police to launch inter-state operation.“Along with Sachin and Rahul, movement of some other Maoist rebels in some suspected areas bordering Bengal have been reported and a joint combing operation with Bengal police has been launched,” said Rural SP Shailendra Kumar.
Kumar made it a point to mention that there have been no reports of Fogra Munda’s presence in the Ghatshila subdivision. Munda, accused of over dozen criminal cases, including murder of Jamua Gram Pradhan Lakhan Murmu, escaped from the Ghatshila subdivisional court in March, when he was about to board the police van after a hearing related to one of the murder cases.
Police sources said the joint operation will include a manhunt in Midnapore and Purulia districts of West Bengal and Chakulia, Ghorabandha, Shyamsunderpur and Dhalbhumgarh police station areas in Jharkhand. “The porous border between Chakulia (in Jharkhand) and Belpahari (in Midnapore) has often been used by Maoists, We are concentrating largely on this area that has a dense forest cover,” they said.
Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district, which that shares its border with Jharkhand, is also under the watchful eyes of the district police. “Joint operations with Bengal have been carried out in the past whenever the situation warranted,” said Kumar, adding that the operation will continue for the next couple of days.