Maoist leader Kishenji killed by security forces

www.mangaloretoday.com

Kolkata, Nov 24, 2011:  Top Maoist leader Kishenji has been killed by security forces in a fierce gunfight in West Bengal.

Local channels had earlier claimed that Kishenji had been killed in the Kushboni forests near Jhargram during anti-Maoist operations by the joint forces. They also claimed that his body had been found with an AK-47 lying besides him.

Three other accomplices of Kishenji have also been killed in the gunbattle, according to reports.

Massive joint operations are underway in Jhargram with the police, reportedly, looking for Kishenji’s aide, Suchitra Mahato.

There has been no confirmation, meanwhile, by the Home Ministry about Kishenji’s death. "Most likely, the body found is that of Kishenji", Union Home Secretary RK Singh told mediapersons.

Similar reports had surfaced about the Maoist leader’s death two years ago but it was later found that he had escaped.

The development comes amidst intensified anti-Naxal operations by the West Bengal government. This, in fact, had led the interlocutors to quit but Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee urged them to stay on. But even as she said that she favoured a dialogue with the Maoists, she reiterated that the violence unleashed by the Left ultras wasn’t acceptable.

Courtesy: NDTV