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Security forces gun down Maoist leader and explosives expert Ashish in Jharkhand
Security forces on Sunday afternoon gunned down a top Maoist leader, Ashish alias Asheeshan, an expert in technology and explosives, at his hideout inside Palkot jungles in Gumla district of Jharkhand.
Security forces on Sunday afternoon gunned down a top Maoist leader, Ashish alias Asheeshan, an expert in technology and explosives, at his hideout inside Palkot jungles in Gumla district of Jharkhand.
Ashish, in his early thirties, carried a reward of Rs 25 lakh on his head, and was a member of the ultra-group’s special area committee (SAC), which forms the third layer in the organisation’s ladder after the politburo and central committee.
His elimination is a huge achievement for the 18-month-old BJP government in its war against left wing extremism (LWE) led by director general of police (DGP), DK Pandey.
As per reports, Maoists’ strength is fading in the state. Till August this year, forces have arrested around 100 Maoists, of which 37 are listed as “quality arrests”. The list includes two SAC members and nine zonal commanders.
Besides the high profile arrests, forces have also gunned down 12 Maoist rebels, Ashish being the latest among the rank holders.
“He was number two among the present Maoist leadership controlling the urban activities in state,” the DGP told HT, stressing Ashish’s had broken the backbone of the rebel group.
Police first came to know about Ashish when they arrested another SAC member Shiv Prasad alias Rohit alias Reetlal of Jehanabad from Patratu, Ramgarh last year. During interrogation, Rohit had told police that Ashish could be found in Gumla’s Palkot area where he has been camping since 2014.
Strangely, even the forces had very little information about him before they succeeded in putting a mole in his squad recently. The mole, learnt to be his own bodyguard, had apparently tipped off forces about his location in Palkot jungles.
The covert operation by CRPF’s elite Cobra Battalion and the state police began on Sunday before noon and by afternoon, Ashish was cornered and killed. Police said it did not have his photograph till he died.
HT had met the young leader a couple of years back at an undisclosed location on the Jharkhand-Chhattisgarh border. Friendly, disciplined and soft spoken, Ashish had exhibited tremendous knowledge about IT.
While debating on the ideology he stood for, he had said that the state may succeed in eliminating him and others leading the proletarian, class war but would never be able to kill the ideology. He had said that the state was never serious on holding talks with them.
“If it was serious, it could have easily engaged with our leaders (half of whom are) in jail,” he had then said, stressing that the state has patronised criminal groups to eliminate them.
“He was indeed a technical expert who trained new recruits in IT, explosive handling,” inspector general of police (IG) and police spokesperson, MS Bhatia said, as he left for the encounter site in the evening.
Since the area is around 25km from the district headquarters, deep inside the jungle, it is unlikely that the body can be retrieved after the necessary human rights procedures are done before midnight.
