As part of the ongoing mission to eliminate Naxal and extremist influence in Jharkhand, security forces are actively conducting operations in affected regions. The Gumla district police recently engaged in an encounter within the Paharhi forest area, under the Kamdara police station, resulting in the death of Martin Kerketta, the supreme commander of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI). The Jharkhand Police had previously placed a 15 lakh rupee bounty on Kerketta’s head. The encounter was led by district SP Harish Bin Jama, Basia SDPO, and their team, who acted upon intelligence reports of Kerketta and his group’s movement in the Paharhi forest. A search operation was initiated based on this information, which led to an exchange of fire. The Naxalites initiated the gunfire, and the security forces retaliated, leading to Kerketta’s death. Other extremists managed to escape amid the confusion, with some sustaining injuries. The Gumla police have established a cordon and are conducting a thorough search of the area, given that several Naxalites were present during the encounter. Following the arrest of Dinesh Gope, who carried a 25-lakh rupee bounty, Martin Kerketta took over the leadership of the PLFI. He leveraged the PLFI’s name to instill fear and systematically extorted money from coal businessmen, contractors, and other business individuals. Kerketta was in the process of expanding the PLFI by forming committees in neighboring states such as Bihar, Odisha, Bengal, and Chhattisgarh, while simultaneously engaging in extortion and other criminal activities. He was also implicated in the Kamdara massacre in Gumla. Prior to this incident, the Gumla police had eliminated three Naxalites, including Dilip Lohra, in an encounter in the Lavadag forest area on July 26. The three Naxalites, including Dilip Lohra, were affiliated with the Jharkhand Janmukti Parishad (JJMP) organization, with Dilip Lohra serving as the sub-zonal commander.
