Gunfight between forces, Naxals in Jharkhand's Latehar; casulaties suspected

An exchange of fire between the security forces and militants of the banned Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) took place in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Tuesday, officials said. Some casualties among the militants are suspected in the gun battle in the Jerma forest in the Chandwa area that lasted for around two hours in the evening, they said. "The militants were in civil dress and on seeing a police team they started firing.

An exchange of fire between the security forces and militants of the banned Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) took place in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Tuesday, officials said. Some casualties among the militants are suspected in the gun battle in the Jerma forest in the Chandwa area that lasted for around two hours in the evening, they said.

"The militants were in civil dress and on seeing a police team they started firing. When police retaliated, they escaped into the thick forests," said Prashant Anand, the superintendent of police of Latehar. Traces of blood were found at the encounter site because of which it is suspected that there may be casualties among the militants, he said.

Security personnel are searching the encounter site and additional forces have been sent to the scene, he said. A rifle, large quantity of cartridges, explosive materials, a mobile phone, a diary and Naxalite literature have been found at the site of the encounter, officials said.

A gunfight between the security forces and the Naxalites took place in the area after a long time, they said.