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Top Maoist leader with ₹2 crore bounty among 16 killed in Jharkhand
The encounter came close in the heels of CRPF DG (operation) Gyanendra Pratap Singh finalising the roadmap for final onslaught on the Maoists in Saranda.
Jamshedpur: Top Maoist leader Patiram Majhi, who was carrying a cumulative bounty of ₹2.35 crore, was among 16 Naxals killed in a gunfight with security forces in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Thursday, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday, dealing a decisive blow to Left Wing Extremism (LWE) just months ahead of the Union government’s deadline to eliminate Naxalism from the country by March 31, 2026.
According to officials familiar with the matter, Maoist central committee member (CCM) Majhi, alias Anal-da alias Toofan alias Ramesh, and his 14 aides were killed during a joint operation by the Jharkhand police and the CRPF’s elite 209 CoBRA battalion as part of “Operation Meghaburu” in Kumdi area of Saranda forest within Kiriburu police station limits.
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“The joint forces led by CoBRA 209 battalion and comprising CRPF, Jharkhand Jaguar and the state police were on anti-Naxal operation early this morning following a credible tip-off of squads led by Anal-da and Anmol being present in the jungles between Bahda and Kumbhdih village. The Maoists, seeing themselves surrounded, opened indiscriminate fire on the joint forces. In the ensuing gunbattle lasting for over seven hours, 16 Maoists have been killed of which 11 have been identified,” CRPF IG in Jharkhand, Saket Kumar, told reporters.
Taking to X, Union home minister said the forces have “achieved a major success in the campaign to make the region free of Naxals through encounters...”
He added: “We are committed to eradicating Naxalism, which has been synonymous with fear and terror for decades, before March 31, 2026. I once again appeal to the remaining Naxals to abandon the ideology that connects to violence, terror, and arms, and join the mainstream of development and trust.”
Calling the development “a historic moment”, IG Kumar said the operation and identification process were still ongoing.
“All the deceased Maoists will be identified but it will take some time as poor network is causing delay in sending photos. The challenging geographical location and hostile terrain in Durdura area, where the encounter happened, is inside deep hilly forest area. The Maoists have also laid IEDs everywhere, which have claimed the lives of our jawans and innocent villagers alike. We are moving in slowly but surely. Only 40-50 are left in Saranda while another 10 Maoists are left in other parts of Jharkhand. The number of Naxal-affected PS has been reduced to two Jaraikela and Chotanagra in West Singhbhum district from 14 earlier. We are confident of making Jharkhand free of Naxals by our target timeframe,” he added.
Other key leaders killed in the encounter include Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC) member Lalchand Hembram alias Anmol alias Sushant with a bounty of ₹90 lakh ( ₹25 lakh by Jharkhand and ₹65 lakh by Odisha), regional committee member (RCM) Amit Munda with ₹62 lakh ( ₹15 lakh by Jharkhand, ₹43 lakh by Odisha and ₹4 lakh by NIA), sub-zonal committee member (SZC) Pintu Lohra with ₹5 lakh, SZC Laljit with ₹5 lakh and area committee member (ACM) Rajesh Munda, and women Maoist ACMs Bulbul Alda, Babita, Purnima, Gope Surajmuni and Jonga. Babita was Rajesh’s wife. “Anal had 149 cases against him, including looting 183 rifles from home guard armoury in Giridih, Bhelwa Ghati massacre in 2005, attack on the CRPF camp in Bokaro and all the attacks and IED blasts in West Singhbhum district between 2022 and 2025,” Jharkhand IG (operation) Michael Raj said.
The encounter came close in the heels of CRPF DG (operation) Gyanendra Pratap Singh finalising the roadmap for final onslaught on the Maoists in Saranda during a strategy meeting at Chaibasa on Monday.
