Gumla (Jharkhand), Aug 6 (IANS) Jharkhand Police gunned down top Maoist Martin Kerketta, the self-styled supremo of the banned outfit People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), during an encounter in Gumla district late Tuesday night, officials said on Wednesday.

Kerketta, who carried a bounty of Rs 15 lakh on his head, had been a dreaded figure across Gumla, Khunti, Simdega, Lohardaga, and Ranchi districts for nearly two decades. He was wanted in connection with over 70 cases related to violent and extremist activities.

According to Gumla SP Haris Bin Zama, police received intelligence inputs that an armed PLFI squad led by Kerketta had arrived in the Changabari Upartoli area under Kamdara police station to extort money from a local businessman.

Acting swiftly, a special police team, including the district’s anti-Naxal Quick Response Team (QRT) and forces from two police station areas, launched a cordon-and-search operation.

On spotting the advancing forces, Kerketta and his associates opened fire, triggering a retaliatory gunfight in which Kerketta was killed on the spot. Arms and ammunition were recovered from the encounter site.

Following the encounter, a massive search operation was launched in the region to trace other members of the squad.

Kerketta, a native of Redma village in Kamdara, had been closely associated with former PLFI chief Dinesh Gop and rose through the ranks of the organisation.

He assumed command of the outfit after Gop’s arrest from Nepal two years ago and was also a central committee member of the PLFI. He was reportedly involved in several high-profile acts of violence and extortion.

Kerketta had earlier escaped police encounters on at least two occasions.

Speaking to the media, SP Haris Bin Zama said, “PLFI supremo Martin Kerketta, who had a reward of Rs 15 lakh on his head, has been killed in an operation by Gumla police. This is a significant success in our anti-Naxal campaign.”

–IANS

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