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Top Maoist leader Ganesh Uike, carrying ₹1.1 crore bounty, killed in Odisha encounter
Ganesh Uike, a notorious leader with a ₹1.1 crore bounty, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Odisha.
Top Maoist leader Ganesh Uike, who carried a reward of ₹1.1 crore, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Odisha, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said on Thursday, December 25.
Uike was a Central Committee member of CPI (Maoist) and headed the outfit’s operations in Odisha, making him one of the most wanted Maoist leaders in the state. The killing took place during an anti-Naxal operation in Kandhamal district, launched on the basis of specific intelligence inputs.
“A significant milestone towards Naxal-free Bharat. In a major operation in Kandhmal, Odisha, 6 Naxalites, including Central Committee Member Ganesh Uike, have been neutralized so far. With this major breakthrough, Odisha stands at the threshold of becoming completely free from Naxalism. We are resolved to eliminate Naxalism before the 31st of March 2026,” Amit Shah said in an X post.
Separately, police confirmed that three Maoists, including a woman cadre, were killed in an exchange of fire with security forces in the Gumma forest area under Belghar police station limits on Wednesday night, as per a PTI news agency report.
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Two of those killed were identified as Bari alias Rakesh, an area committee member of CPI (Maoist), and Amrit, a dalam member, both hailing from Chhattisgarh and carrying a combined bounty of ₹23.65 lakh. The body of another woman Maoist was recovered near the encounter site during a search operation on Thursday morning, though her identity is yet to be established, the report stated.
According to police, the encounter occurred when a small mobile team of the Odisha Police’s Special Operations Group (SOG) launched a combing operation in the forest following a tip-off about Maoist movement. In the larger joint operation, 23 teams comprising SOG, CRPF and BSF personnel were deployed across forested areas of Kandhamal and adjoining parts of Ganjam district, a Deccan Chronicle report noted.
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Security forces were involved in multiple exchanges of fire, after which the bodies of four Maoists, two men and two women, were recovered during intensive searches, the report added.
Arms and equipment, including INSAS rifles, a .303 rifle, a revolver and communication devices, were seized from the encounter sites. No injuries were reported among security personnel, and combing operations have been stepped up in the region to rule out the presence of additional Maoist cadres.
The encounter came days after 22 Maoists surrendered before the Odisha Director General of Police in neighbouring Malkangiri district.
(With inputs from PTI)
