2 Maoists, 1 CRPF jawan killed in gunfight in Jharkhand's Bokaro

Two Maoists and a CRPF jawan were killed in a gunfight in Jharkhand's Bokaro district on Wednesday morning, police said.

The gunfight broke out between the security forces and the Maoists in the Birhordera forest in the Gomia police station area around 5.30 am, they said.

“The security forces gunned down two Maoists during the encounter. A jawan of the CPRF's CoBRA battalion was also killed in the exchange of fire,” IG (Bokaro Zone) Kranthi Kumar Gadidesi told PTI.

Bokaro's SP Harvinder Singh told PTI that a search was underway in the area following the encounter.

The identification of the killed Maoists is underway, another police officer said.

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said the CRPF jawan hailed from Kokrajhar in his state.

"Assam's braveheart and Maa Bharti's son CT/GD Parneswar Koch of Kokrajhar attained martyrdom fighting naxals in Jharkhand, early this morning," he posted on X.

Sarma said the people of Assam salute his sacrifice.

"We will always be there to support them (his family) and this sacrifice will not go in vain as our forces unleash their power to eliminate naxalism from the face of the earth," he said.