Eight Maoists killed in Bengal, bodies recovered

LALGARH - Eight Maoist guerrillas, including three women, were killed in a gunfight with security forces near this Maoist stronghold, police said Wednesday, adding that all the bodies had been recovered and a teenage boy arrested.

The fierce exchange of bullets that began late Tuesday in the Ranjha forest, about 20 km from here, continued till Wednesday morning, officials said. A large cache of arms and ammunition has been seized.

Many of those killed were teenagers.

“We have recovered all the bodies. One injured Maoist has been caught,” West Bengal Director General of Police Bhupinder Singh told IANS.

Acting on a tip off that armed rebels had set up base in the forest, central paramilitary troopers and the state police conducted raided the area, police superintendent Manoj Verma added.

“There was a fierce exchange of bullets through the night. The encounter continued till the morning,” Verma said.

A police source disclosed that some Maoists were believed to be hiding in a ditch.

A Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) trooper said the bodies of the eight rebels were spotted in the forest and brought to a primary health centre at Koakhali. Three of the dead were women.

“This is a rare instance of security forces getting the bodies of Maoists killed in gunbattle. Normally, the rebels are very particular about decamping with the bodies of their comrades and then burying those away from the spot so that the forces cannot get hold of the corpses,” he said.

Security forces have also recovered an AK-47 rifle, two 9 mm pistols, landmines, more than 100 detonators and explosive materials from the spot.

Security forces have been deployed in Lalgarh and other sensitive places of West Midnapore district since June last year to flush out the rebels.

Apart from West Midnapore, Maoists are active in Bankura and Purulia districts of West Bengal.