Two groups of security personnel mistook each other as Maoists and began a gunfight that left three men injured in a jungle of Latehar district today.
"The personnel comprising CRPF and Jharkhand Jaguar were in a search operation after getting tip off that Maoist leader Arvindji was to come to a place near the forest of Kuku village," Deputy Inspector General of Police R K Dhan said.
"During the combined search operation, two groups of the security personnel came from opposite directions and mistook each other as Maoists, sparking the gunfight," Dhan told reporters here.
Earlier, the police said it was an encounter with the Maoists.
"We are looking into how the communication gap came up," he said.
CRPF Assistant Commander Vivek Jha, sub-inspector Ashok Kumar Sinha and a constable suffered bullet injuries in the shootout and were being treated at a hospital in Ranchi.
