RANCHI: After the killing of eight Maoists including a top leader having a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, panic has gripped Maoist cadres who are finding ways to surrender before the police in Jharkhand. According to DGP Anurag Gupta, many Maoists in Giridih, Gumla, Latehar, Lohardaga and West Singhbhum are sending messages to police officers, seeking their guidance to move forward in this direction.
Besides Vivek, Arvind Yadav with a bounty of Rs 25 lakh and Saheb Ram Manjhi with a bounty of Rs 10 lakh, were also killed in the encounter. With these killings, the Jhumra chapter of the Naxalites is almost closed now.
Vivek's wife Jaya, who had a bounty of Rs 1 crore on her head, was also arrested last year, although she died due to illness.
According to police sources, Prayag Manjhi was constantly changing his location with his armed squad in the areas of Lugu Pahad, Parasnath and Jhumra Pahar for the last one year. After receiving information that Vivek is re-strengthening the organization, the intelligence department of Jharkhand Police started collecting information about him, on the basis of which eight Maoists including Prayag were gunned down.
According to the DGP, all the SPs have been given clear instructions to provide support to Maoists who are willing to put their guns down, ensuring all facilities to them under ‘Operation Nayi Dishayen,’ the new surrender policy of Jharkhand.
“Due to continuous crackdown on Maoists, especially after the encounter with eight Maoists in Bokaro, the restlessness among them has increased to such an extent that over a dozen cadres have started contacting the police and central forces so that they can surrender and save their lives,” said the DGP.
The DGP further added that the surrender policy of the Jharkhand government is very attractive and the Maoists who give themselves up are kept in open jails instead of normal jails. The surrendered Maoists also get a handsome reward to live a better life.
“In a nutshell, it could be said that Maoists have no other choice but to surrender or get killed by the security forces,” said the DGP.
Notably, Maoists are now restricted only to the Saranda jungles in Jharkhand as they have been wiped out from other pockets of the state. According to an estimate, around 85-90 Maoists are supposed to be hiding in Saranda jungles, where they have planted thousands of IEDs, which has become a challenge for the security forces.
The state police launched a joint operation in Kolhan and Saranda jungles of Chaibasa in November 2022 following intelligence inputs about the presence of top Maoist leaders in the region, including Misir Besra, a senior CPI(Maoist) commander with a bounty of ₹1 crore on his head.
From January to April 20 this year, as many as 15 Maoists have been killed by security forces in the state, with five of them being wanted.
According to official data, a total of 18 Maoists were killed in 2020, eight in 2021, 12 in 2022, 14 in 2023 and 11 in 2024. However, 20 security personnel have also been martyred during these years.
