Maoist commander killed, close aide arrested in Jharkhand's Gumla

A top Maoist leader, who was carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with the police and his close aide was arrested in Jharkhand’s Gumla district.

A top Maoist leader, who was carrying a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, was killed in an encounter with the police and his close aide was arrested in Jharkhand’s Gumla district.

“The deceased has been identified as Sylvester Minz, a member of the CPI (Maoist) zonal area committee, and the arrested person is sub-zonal commander Dilbar,” said Gumla superintendent of police Bhimsen Tuti.

Dilbar had a bounty of Rs 5 lakh on his head and was found carrying an AK-47 assault rifle.

Tuti said that a police patrol party surrounded a group of Maoists, who had gathered in Tiril village — around 130 km west of state capital Ranchi — for a meeting early on Saturday.

“The encounter broke at around 5.30am. The rebels open fired on the approaching forces,” he said.

Police have also seized a large cache of arms from the meeting site.