A two-day bandh called by the CPI(Maoist) affected normal life in three police station areas of Jharkhand’s Palamu district on Friday, an officer said. Many shops remained shut and few public transport vehicles were visible on the roads in areas under Hariharganj, Pipra and Naudiha police stations.
The bandh, beginning Friday, has been called by the CPI(Maoist) to protest a recent police encounter in which five Maoists were killed, a senior police officer said. Chhatarpur sub-divisional police officer (SDPO) Ajay Kumar told PTI, “Markets are almost closed and few vehicles are on the roads. No untoward incident has been reported till evening.”
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Meanwhile, security forces have been put on high alert in the western districts of the state in view of the bandh call. The districts that have been asked to be alert are Palamu, Latehar, Garhwa, Chatra, Hazaribag and Lohardaga, the police officer said. On April 3, five Maoists, including four who were carrying a total bounty of Rs 60 lakh on their heads, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Chatra district.
Lesliganj sub-divisional police officer (SPDO) Alok Kumar Tutti said that the police are alert in Manatu, Tarhsi, Pipratang and Panki police station areas of Palamu district. A police officer said that Maoists had pasted posters on some electric transformers in Bihar’s Gaya district announcing the two-day bandh in Jharkhand.
