RANCHI: Special Area Committee Member of Koyalshankh, Bihar, Jharkhand and North Chhattisgarh, having a bounty of Rs 25 lakh on his head, Kamlesh Ganjhu alias Birsai surrendered before Palamu Commissioner and DIG on Thursday.
Ganjhu, who was active for the last 25 years in the organization, has more than 100 cases registered against him in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Calling it a big loss for the Maoists, Palamu DIG Vipul Shukla said that he was second in command after Arvind Ji, besides being the biggest tribal face in the organization. Ganjhu was handed over a cheque of Rs 25 lakh after he surrendered before Police.
"More than 100 cases have been lodged against him in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh having 33 in Garhwa and 44 in Latehar itself. After top Naxal Arving Ji got ill, it was Ganjhu who took over the command of Maoists in the region," said Palamu DIG Vipul Shukla.
After joining the organization in 1993 at the age of 10, Ganjhu became commander for the first time in 2004 after the merger of Maoist Communist Centre (MCC) and Peoples War Group (PWG), he added. Ganjhu said that he joined the organization the age of 10 years and admitted involvement in several encounters with police. "The organization has diverted from its objective where tribals are being largely neglected by the leaders in it," said Ganjhu after his surrender. He said that he had joined the organization when he was 10 years of age and was active for the last 25 years.
According to Ganjhu, he was active in the three states -- Jharkhand, Bihar and Chhattisgarh and became the Secretary of military commission of the banned CPI (Maoist). His wife Raj Kumari was also present during the surrender. Ganhju was Commander when 17 CRPF Jawans were killed in a land mine blast in Katia jungles of Latehar in 2013 and 12 security personnel were killed at Bhandaria in Garhwa during an encounter with CPI (Maoists) in 2012.
In a separate incident, wanted Zonal Commander of Naxal outfit Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC) Kohram Singh alias Laxman Ganjhu has been arrested late in the night on Wednesday from a rented accommodation at Ramnagar of Katkamdag in Hazaribagh. Kohram was having a bounty of Rs 10 lakh on his head. Sources in the Police Department said that Kohran was nabbed during a joint operation of Hazaribagh and Chatra Police on Wednesday night and have also recovered over 15.65 lakh from the place.