Chaibasa, August 15: Two personnel of the Jharkhand Jaguar Force of the state police were killed in a gunfight with Maoists in West Singhbhum district, a senior police officer said. The incident took place in a forest between Tumbahaka and Sarjomburu villages in Tonto police station area late on Monday night. "Two jawans, identified as Sub-Inspector Amit Tiwari and Constable Gautam Kumar, were killed in an encounter with Maoists," West Singhbhum Superintendent of Police Ashutosh Shekhar told PTI.

Acting on a tip-off about the presence of top Maoists in the area, a joint team of CRPF, Cobra, Jharkhand Jaguar and district armed police launched a massive search operation. On spotting the approaching security personnel, the Maoists opened fire on them, resulting in a gunfight in which the two jawans were killed. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Chief Minister Hemant Soren said, "Received sad news about the martyrdom of two soldiers of Jharkhand Jaguar -- Amit Tiwari ji and Gautam Kumar ji, during a Maoist encounter in West Singhbhum district."

"May God grant peace to the departed souls and give strength to the bereaved family members to bear this grief. Hundreds of salutes to the indomitable courage and bravery of the immortal brave martyrs," he added. The incident took place a few days after a CRPF jawan was killed and another was injured in an encounter with Maoists in the same area. An intensive combing operation has been underway in Kolhan core area in the district since January in view of activities of top Maoists, including wanted red rebel Misir Besra, in the area. Nine innocent villagers have also been killed and around two dozen others have been injured in IED blasts in Tonto and Goilkera police station areas.