Top Maoist leader Sasodhar Mahato, brother of Chhatradhar Mahato ? the jailed leader of the People?s Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA), is suspected to have been killed in an encounter in a forest in Jamboni, in Jhargram sub-division, on Thursday.
Stating that the encounter was still going on, West Midnapore SP Manoj Verma said the police recovered the body of ?a senior Maoist leader who was carrying an AK-47?. An Inspector General of Police said the dead Maoist leader could by Sasodhar Mahato, who is wanted in connection with the Jnaneswari derailment.
?Normally, leaders like Sasodhar Mahato are entitled to carry AK-47 rifles with them. The police had been tracking the squad for some time,? said the official.
Earlier, there were unconfirmed reports that Mahato had been detained by security forces. Mahato, who hails from Baro Pelia village of Lalgarh, has been underground for about a decade now.
According to sources, Mahato initially had links with the Communists but deserted the party after he was booked in a case and spent some time in jail.
He is married to Suchitra Mahato, an area commander of the Maoists operating in the Bengal-Jharkhand-Orissa belt. The couple, who belonged to the same squad, took charge of the Lalgarh region after Kishenji went into hiding.
