A man, whom police believe to have Maoist links, was killed in an encounter in Assam's Kokrajhar district early Saturday. The man was identified as Ipil Murmu alias Rohit Murmu, a resident of Kokrajhar.
According to the police, Murmu was one of the key accused in a recent railway track explosion in the district and was also involved in a similar blast in Jharkhand last year.
A Jharkhand Police team had recently arrived in Assam to coordinate with local authorities in tracking him down.
During the operation, police recovered a pistol, a grenade, a voter ID card, and an Aadhaar card issued in Jharkhand from the site of the encounter.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Kokrajhar, Pushparaj Singh said that Murmu fled to Assam following the explosion in Jharkhand. In Jharkhand, he was known as Rohit Murmu, while in Assam, he used the name Ipil Murmu.
Investigation revealed that Murmu had been associated with the National Santal Liberation Army
(NSLA), a defunct outfit having close maoist links.
When the NSLA laid down arms, Murmu refused to surrender and instead escaped to Jharkhand, where he formed a breakaway faction and reportedly became its commander.
He later established connections with Maoist groups, expanding his network and participating in subversive activities in Jharkhand since 2015.
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