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A police officer was killed and two policemen were injured in a fierce encounter with Maoists in the hilly jungles of Jama block in Jharkhand's Dumka district on Friday.
"The officer-in-charge of Jama police station Satanand Singh died on the spot when a bullet hit him in the head during the gunfight," Deputy Inspector General of Police B K Pandey said.
Two others, including a constable of Special Task Force, Ravi Shankar, were injured in the gun battle.They have been airlifted to Ranchi for treatment.
The encounter began in the early hours of the day, he said.
Jharkhand police Chief Neyaz Ahmed, Inspector General of Police (Operation) R K Malik and IG D K Pandey flew to Dumka and held a meeting with the deputy commissioner and the police officers in connection with Maoist presence in the Santhal Pargana districts, which are by and large free from the menace.
"Getting a tip-off that Maoists were in the jungles, the police went to the spot around 5 am. The officer-in-charge of Jama police station died in the encounter," Malik told newsmen in Dumka soon after the high-level meeting.
"Anti-naxal operations will continue in the areas of Amrapara, Litpara (Pakur district), Kathikund and Gopikandar (Dumka) till all the Maoists are dead or leave the place. Two or three additional companies will be involved in the operation," Malik said.
Eighteen out of 24 districts in Jharkhand are officially declared as Naxal-affected, leaving out all the six districts, including Dumka, from Santhal Pargana region.