Kokrajhar: A top Maoist commander who was planning to establish a base for the banned CPI (Maoist) in Assam, was killed in an encounter with the police early on Saturday.

He has been identified as Ipil Murmu alias Rohit Murmu. There are 10 cases registered against him in Jharkhand, the police claimed. ADVERTISEMENT

Murmu apparently used an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) to blow up two feet of railway tracks in Kokrajhar on Thursday morning. Fortunately, the damage was detected before a passenger train could pass over that stretch. A derailment could have caused loss of life.

According to Pushpraj Singh, SSP, Kokrajhar, a search was launched on Friday night and contact made with the group led by Murmu. The Naxalites opened fire on the police and a fierce gun battle ensure.

“While th

See Full Page