Hazaribagh (Jharkhand) [India], June 2 : A Naxalite group torched the two coal-filled trucks belonging to BGR Mining Company at Keredari in Jharkhand's Hazaribagh district, a senior police officer said on Monday.
Visuals from the area showed two trucks completely gutted in the incident that took place on Sunday night.
"The two trucks, which were loaded with coal, were torched. In the preliminary investigation, we think that this is the work of a splinter group (of Naxals), and our team reached the incident area quickly. We are investigating the matter," said Hazaribagh Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan.
The SP said that certain threats have been received, too, which are being investigated accordingly.
Earlier, security forces engaged in an encounter with members of the banned Naxalite organisation CPI (Maoist) at around 12 PM on May 30. The encounter occurred in the hilly/forest areas of Vangram Tirilposi under Jhariakela Police Station in Jharkhand, an official statement read.
The security forces seized explosives and other daily-use items during the search operation.
In a separate case, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed a supplementary chargesheet on May 31 against three active operatives of the banned CPI (Maoist) in connection with a 2023 terrorist conspiracy case registered in Jharkhand's Giridih district.
The chargesheet, submitted before the NIA Special Court in Ranchi, names Krishna Hansda alias Saurav Da alias Avinash Da, a Regional Committee Member of the CPI (Maoist); Abhijit Korah alias Matla Korah alias Sunil Korah, an armed cadre of the group; and Ramdayal Mahto alias Nilesh Da alias Bachchan Da, who was part of the outfit's Special Area Committee. Similarly, in a 2022 case involving the seizure of arms and ammunition linked to a conspiracy has named over 25 accused, with two new people named on Sunday.
The agency has charged Ranthu Oraon and Niraj Singh Kherwar, both hailing from Jharkhand. The two have been charged under various provisions of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), the Arms Act, the Explosive Substances Act, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act [UA(P)A].
The case stems from a February 2022 joint search operation by local police and Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel in the forest area of Bulbul in Lohardaga, Jharkhand. Intelligence inputs had indicated that CPI (Maoist) cadres were gathering there to plan an attack in the Bauxite Mines Area, intending to avenge the arrest of their top commander, Prashant Bose.
Efforts are ongoing to identify and apprehend the remaining co-conspirators as part of the NIA's broader strategy to dismantle the CPI (Maoist) network across the country.