Reportedly, Kishanji was killed on Tuesday midnight while being on the run along with Suchitra Mahato, the widow of the slain Maoist leader Sashadhar Mahato,when some 1,000 CRPF jawans and policemen, led by CoBRA commandos, launched a massive assault on a specific tip-off. Also, massive gunbattles happened between both the parties all through Wednesday and Suchitra was reportedly injured.

At 9am on Thursday, the house of a local college student named Dharmendra Mahato was raided in Bakshole who is a final-year geography student at a Jhargram college and a Maoist supporter. According to the police, Kishanji and Suchitra had earlier taken shelter at his home.

Though Dharmendra was not present during the search but CRPF jawans searched the house and found a laptop bag, which they alleged to be Kishanji’s, and also several maps marking out CRPF camps and many letters written by Kishanji and Suchitra to Dharmendra. The forces suspect Suchitra had taken shelter there on Wednesday night. Realizing that Kishanji couldn’t have gone far, the forces continued their hunt for him.

CRPF units in Jharkhand were also alerted and they moved quickly to seal off escape routes in the vicinity of Ghidni railway station which led to CRPF forces converging from both sides and as a result Kishanji was trapped. Around 4pm.The encounter started at around 4 pm.

A round of gunfire got exchanged among both the parties while the Maoists fired mostly from automatic rifles. And at 5.45pm, with darkness falling, the firing suddenly stopped from the Maoist side. Our commandos quickly moved in and found a body closely resembling Kishanji, stated a CRPF officer. Three more bodies were found. The hunt is still on for Suchitra.
According to Bengal DGP Naparajit Mukherjee, an AK-47 rifle and Kishanji’s hearing aid lay nearby his dead body. At least three more Maoists were killed

Naxal leader Kishanji killed by Police

Report by Indrani Chowdury