7 cops injured in Jharkhand Naxal attack

RANCHI: Seven security personnel were injured in a five-hour gun battle with Maoists at Marangburu village in Khunti district on Saturday.
The encounter took place when personnel from CoBRA (203rd and 94th battalions of CRPF) and district police carried out raids at Marangburu and Rabo villages. Earlier, there were reports about the Maoists running training camps those areas.Khunti SP Manoj Kaushik and additional SP (operation) Vijay Kumar led the operation that begean around some time after midnight.
Sources said around 1am, police reached Rabo and climbed the hills to reach Marangburu. Maoist rebels, led by zonal commander (South Chhotanagpur) Kundan Pahan, opened fire to stop the security personnel.
Later about 7.30am, Maoists, numbering about 50, again fired on the advancing security forces, injuring four CoBRA jawans and two police personnel. Some Maoists were reportedly injured when the security personnel fired in retaliation. "Blood stains at the site indicate that some of the Maoists were also injured in the encounter," Kaushik said.
The injured jawans Chandan Kumar (25), Ravi Kumar (27), Ravi Kumar Lohra (24), Vijay Kumar Singh (40), Anand Kumar (26), Amardeep Kujur (25), Inderjit Singh (26) were sent to a private hospital. The encounter lasted nearly five hours, the sources said.
"The jawans were airlifted to Ranchi for treatment," Kaushik said. The security personnel destroyed several Maoist camps, including concrete bunkers. The rebels slipped into the nearby jungles after the encounter.
"This is the fourth encounter in four months in the Marangburu area," Kaushik said. Kaushik. Some Maoist literature, medical kits, food items and utensils were found at the site.