RANCHI: In a breakthrough, security forces have arrested top Maoist leader Misir Besra, who carried a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head, marking a significant blow to the Maoist network operating in the Saranda and Kolhan forests of West Singhbhum.
According to police sources, Besra was arrested late on Tuesday night in Giridih along with his two close associates Regional Committee member Mehnat alias Mochhu, who carried a Rs 5 lakh bounty, and Gaurav alias Saurav.
A reward of Rs 1 crore had been announced for Besra in Jharkhand, while Odisha had declared a bounty of Rs 1.20 crore on him. Police sources said a joint team of the CoBRA, CRPF and Jharkhand Police carried out the operation based on specific intelligence inputs.
Besra, a Politburo member of the CPI (Maoist), had been absconding for nearly two decades and was among the country's most wanted Maoist leaders. With his arrest, only one Maoist leader carrying a Rs 1 crore bounty Asim Mandal remains at large in Jharkhand.
Police officials described the arrest as a major setback to the Maoist network in the Saranda and Kolhan regions and a significant milestone in the state's anti-Naxal operations.
The three arrested Maoists have been shifted to an undisclosed location, where they are being interrogated by the police, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and other central agencies.
Investigators are trying to gather information about sophisticated weapons and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) hidden in the forests and identify overground workers (OGWs) who allegedly provided logistical and financial support to the Maoists.
According to police sources, intelligence inputs indicated that Besra and his squad had moved towards Giridih and the Parasnath hills in search of a new hideout after mounting pressure from security forces in Saranda.
Acting on the information, security forces launched Operation Sudarshan, sealed the area and conducted a search operation, leading to the arrests.
He has more than 150 cases registered against him across Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, involving murder, IED blasts, attacks on the police and violations of the Arms Act. His primary areas of operation were Saranda, Kolhan, Parasnath and the tri-junction of Jharkhand, Odisha, and West Bengal.
He also orchestrated the IED blasts at Bitkilsoy and Baliba in West Singhbhum during 2003–04, incidents that claimed the lives of 55 security personnel. He had been absconding since 2009, when armed Maoists attacked the police and freed him from the premises of the Lakhisarai court in Bihar.
His stature could be gauged with the fact that a three-tier security ring protected him.