Coal Trader Targeted: Who Was Naxalite Martin Kerketta, Killed in Gumla Encounter?

In an effort to make Jharkhand a Naxalite and extremism-free state, security forces have been conducting large-scale operations in Naxal and extremism-affected areas. In this context, the Gumla district police eliminated Martin Kerketta, the notorious supremo of the People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI), in an encounter in the Paharhi forest area under the Kamdara police station. A reward of 15 lakh rupees had been declared on Martin Kerketta by the Jharkhand Police. The encounter in Gumla was led by the district SP Harish Bin Jama, the Basia SDPO, and their team. Intelligence suggested that PLFI supremo Martin and other Naxalites from his group were roaming in the Paharhi forest. A search operation was launched in the forest following this information. During the operation, the Naxalites opened fire on the police team. In the retaliatory action by the security forces, Martin was killed, while other extremists fled, taking advantage of the darkness. Some Naxalites were also injured. Currently, after the encounter, Gumla police are conducting an intensive search operation by cordoning off the entire area because more than half a dozen Naxalites were roaming in the forest at the time of the encounter. Martin Kerketta was leading the PLFI after the arrest of the notorious Dinesh Gope, who carried a bounty of 25 lakhs, by the NIA and Jharkhand Police from Nepal. He was terrorizing people in the name of PLFI and continuously extorting money from coal businessmen, contractors, and other traders. Martin Kerketta was expanding the PLFI and establishing different committees of the organization in states bordering Jharkhand, including Bihar, Odisha, Bengal, and Chhattisgarh. He was continuously extorting money and committing several criminal acts. The command of the PLFI organization was completely in Martin’s hands. Martin was also accused of involvement in the massacre in the Kamdara area of Gumla. However, he had survived a previous encounter. Sub-zonal commander Gajju Gope had died in that encounter. Earlier, on July 26, the Gumla police had killed three Naxalites, including Dilip Lohra, in an encounter in the Lavadag forest area of the Ghaghra police station. The three Naxalites killed, including Dilip Lohra, belonged to the Jharkhand Janmukti Parishad (JJMP) organization. The notorious Dilip Lohra was the sub-zonal commander of the Jharkhand Janmukti Parishad.