Suspected Maoist Operative Killed in Police Encounter in Assam's Kokrajhar District

Following the encounter, police recovered a pistol, a grenade, and ID cards (Representational).

Guwahati:

A man with suspected Maoist connections was killed during a police encounter in Kokrajhar district of Assam early Saturday. Authorities identified the deceased as Ipil Murmu, also known as Rohit Murmu, a local resident of Kokrajhar.

Police officials stated that Murmu was a primary suspect in a recent explosion targeting railway tracks in the district. He was reportedly also involved in a similar explosive incident in Jharkhand last year.

A police team from Jharkhand had recently arrived in Assam to collaborate with local law enforcement agencies in their efforts to apprehend him.

During the operation, authorities recovered several items from the encounter site, including a pistol, a grenade, a voter identification card, and an Aadhaar card issued in Jharkhand.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) of Kokrajhar, Pushparaj Singh, revealed that Murmu had escaped to Assam following the explosion in Jharkhand. The suspect used different identities in different states – going by Rohit Murmu in Jharkhand while using the name Ipil Murmu in Assam.

Further investigation uncovered that Murmu had previously been affiliated with the National Santal Liberation Army (NSLA), a defunct organization with strong Maoist connections.

When other NSLA members surrendered to authorities, Murmu refused to lay down arms and instead fled to Jharkhand. There, he established a breakaway faction of the organization and reportedly became its commander.

Eventually, he developed connections with various Maoist groups, expanding his network and participating in subversive activities across Jharkhand since 2015.