Ranchi: A commander of the banned People’s Liberation Front of India (PLFI) was injured in an encounter in Khunti district on Sunday, police said. Half a dozen members of his squad were also arrested in the operation, they added.The injured commander was identified as Shravan Das, 21. The six others were identified as Samu Dodhrai, Sudarshan Soy, Salim Bodra, Harshit Gudia, Umar Khan and Vishnu Manjhi, all aged between 19 and 26 years. SP of Khunti, Rishabh Garg, said, “Das was creating hurdles in govt works and demanding extortion money from the traders. Police had deployed spies to track him down. Acting on a tip-off regarding Das and his associates gathering in the Tilmi forest, a police team was sent to the spot. The team apprehended Das and six of his squad members along with arms and ammunition.”Police said 4 pistols, around 27 cartridges, and several documents, including a diary containing names of contractors, have been seized.Garg stated that during interrogation, Das informed about hidden weapons, following which a team took him to the spot for their recovery. “As the police team was returning from the spot after recovering two pistols and cartridges, Das snatched a pistol from an officer and fired at the team while trying to flee. Police fired back in self-defence causing injury to Das,” he said. Das is undergoing treatment at Rajendra Institute of Medical Sciences (Rims) in Ranchi for an injury to his leg and is said to be out of danger. Several cases, including those related to firing and burning of several vehicles at a railway construction site, arson and extortion, have been registered against Das.