Ranchi, Mar 29: A breakaway faction of ultras shot dead ten Maoists and claimed to have taken as many hostage during a firefight which continued till the small hours of Thursday in Jharkhand's Chatra district.
Security forces rushed to the jungles near Lakramanda village after getting information about the gunfight between the Maoists and members of the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) which had broken away from the CPI(Maoist) on ideological grounds a decade ago, Superintendent of Police Anup Birtheray told PTI over phone.
"This is the heaviest casualty ever in a clash between the two groups," he said.
The gunfight between the two groups started last night and continued till the early hours today, Birtheray said.
Ten bodies of the slain Maoists and six weapons were found during a search of the spot, he said.
He said the arrival of the security forces prevented the ultras from taking away the bodies.
Asked about self-styled TPC area commander Ajayji claiming that 15 Maoists were killed and another 10 taken hostage, the SP said, "We don't have any information on that. We have only got ten bodies during search by the security forces."
According to sources, some of the Maoists killed might have been their top leaders.
The TPC, which broke away in 2002, and the CPI(Maoist) have been bitter rivals among the six extremist outfits operating in Jharkhand.
The TPC which has declared that its main enemy was not the police but the Maoists, operates in Chatra, Palamau, Latehar, Garhwa and parts of Hazaribagh district.
Jharkhand Police chief Rajeev Kumar said six out of the ten slain Maoists were identified as self-styled commanders.
Security forces, which reached the spot, opened 90 rounds, forcing the Naxalites to flee the spot, he said.
After inspecting the spot, the DGP said it appeared 30 to 40 Maoists were present and about 50 TPC ultras attacked them with IEDs and opened indiscriminate fire.
Stating that there was no trace of casualty on the side of the TPC, he said the backbone of the CPI (Maoist) was broken and police would not allow them to re-build their activities in the area.
Top Maoist leaders like the member of Bihar-Jharkhand Regional Committee Lavlesh Singh, self-styled Bihar-Jharkhand Platoon Commander Jay Kumar Yadav, self-styled zonal commander Dharmendra Yadav and Koel-Sankh Zone "commander" Mitesh Yadav were among the Maoists ranks when the TPC attacked them.
