An encounter between police and Naxalites in the Kashitand jungle of Lugu mountain in the Jageshwar Bihar police station area of Bokaro district resulted in the death of Kunwar Manjhi, a Naxalite with a bounty of five lakh rupees. A jawan from the Cobra Battalion also sacrificed his life in the encounter. IG of Bokaro range, Kranti Kumar Gardeshi, informed that the special operation was launched based on the information of the presence of a Naxalite group. During the search operation in the jungle, the police directly confronted the Naxalites. A fierce gunfight ensued, leading to the death of Kunwar Manjhi. Police also recovered his AK-47 rifle. During the operation, Constable Pranaveshwar Koch (33) of the 209th Cobra unit of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) was martyred after being shot. He was originally from Kokrajhar, Assam. The IG added that after seeing the police gaining the upper hand, the Naxalites tried to escape by using some villagers. When the Naxalites failed in this attempt, they shot and killed a villager on the spot to mislead the police. The killed villager was a resident of the Lugu area. This encounter occurred on the same Lugu mountain where eight Naxalites, including Vivek, who carried a reward of one crore rupees, were killed in an encounter in April this year. The search operation is still going on in the area to find the Naxalites.
