Chaibasa(J’khand)/Rourkela: Sixteen Maoists, including top leader Anal, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Saranda forest along the Odisha-Jharkhand border Thursday. Patiram Manjhi alias Anal Da, carrying a Rs 2.35 crore bounty, and five women were among those killed. The bounty included Rs 1 crore by Jharkhand, Rs 1.2 crore by Odisha and Rs 15 lakh by the NIA.
Around 1,500 personnel of the CRPF’s CoBRA unit were engaged in the operation in Kumdi area of Saranda forest within Kiriburu police station limits, officials said, describing it as one of the biggest anti-Maoist drives in Jharkhand. “We have recovered the bodies of Maoists, including their top leader Patiram Majhi alias Anal Da, carrying a bounty of Rs 2.35 crore on his head. Eleven bodies have been identified, and identification of the remaining four Maoists is underway,” IG CRPF Saket Kumar Singh said. This is the first time bodies of so many Maoists have been recovered after an encounter in Jharkhand. Earlier, the highest number was eight, Singh said.
Barring Misir Besra, all central committee members of CPI (Maoists) have been killed in Jharkhand, Singh said. Two central committee members were killed last year and one this year, he said, adding that now only 60-65 Maoists are left in the state and that too in Singhbhum. “The last round of battle is going on, and we will end this soon,” Singh added. The IG CRPF urged the Maoists to surrender before the security forces or else to be ready to face consequences.
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Inspector General of Police (Operations) Michael Raj S said that among the Maoists killed in ‘Operation Megaburu’, five were women. Anal Da was involved in an attack on a CISF camp in Jharkhand’s Bokaro March 3, 2006, in which five CISF personnel were killed and two injured. He was also involved in the killing of five security personnel at Kukru Haat in Seraikela-Kharswan district in June 2019 and loot of five tonnes of explosives in Odisha in May 2025.
Another top Maoist leader killed in the encounter was Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee (BJSAC) member Anmol alias Sushant, who was wanted in 149 cases and carried a Rs 90 lakh reward, comprising Rs 25 lakh by Jharkhand and Rs 65 lakh by Odisha governments, officials said.
The anti-Maoist operation has been going on in the Saranda forest since Tuesday, but the exchange of fire began Thursday morning. Raj said the operation started after police received a tip-off about the presence of Anal Da, along with his squad, in Saranda forest.
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