Patna: The police killed 12 Maoist insurgents on Tuesday in a shootout with a group suspected of planning to extort money from mining contractors in Jharkhand, a spokesman said. Police, acting on a tip-off, tightened up security on the route to the mines. When the group approached a checkpoint in vehicles, the police got out and opened fire.
"We have recovered the bodies of 12 rebels from the spot. This is a big achievement for us," police spokesman S.N. Pradhan said by telephone from Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand.
Among the dead in the one-hour gun battle was a rebel leader with Rs 500,000 bounty on his head. Police said he was wanted for planting an explosive device inside the corpse of a police constable in an incident two years ago.
The police, who suffered no serious casualties, were still searching for 10-12 rebels who fled the scene. It was not immediately possible to verify their account independently.
