Bhubaneswar: Ganesh Uike, 69, a battle-hardened Maoist leader, finally fell to the bullets of security personnel in Kandhamal district Thursday, less than a year after taking charge of Odisha operations, officials said.
Uike, a central committee member of the outfit carrying a bounty of Rs 1.1 crore, was shot dead in a dense forest within Chakapad police station limits, bordering Ganjam district in Rambha forest range.
A senior officer associated with the operation said Uike, despite being accompanied by three of his associates, was caught off guard.
The biting cold in Kandhamal, with temperatures falling below three degrees Celsius in the jungle, likely aided security forces in neutralising the group, the officer said.
Uike took charge of Odisha operations in December 2024 after previously heading the Karnataka-Kerala-Tamil Nadu south regional bureau.
He was promoted to the central committee in 2020 and had worked across Chhattisgarh up to November 2024, officials said.
Known by various names including Pakka Hanumantu, Rajesh Tiwari, Chamru, and Rupa, Uike was a native of Pullemala village under Chendur mandal in Telangana’s Nalgonda district.
In February, he reorganised the Niyamgiri local organisation squad to revive Maoist activities in the erstwhile areas of top naxal leader Sabyasachi Panda, currently serving a life sentence in Berhampur jail.
Uike mostly focused in Kalahandi – Rayagada – Kandhamal – Boudh – Nayagarh axis taking advantage of the difficult terrains and topography.
However, he died in the same forested and hilly terrain in an encounter with the security personnel of Odisha’s SOG, DVF and central forces like CRPF and BSF.
“Uike’s death has broken the backbone of Maoist activities in Odisha,” DGP Y B Khurania told reporters.
“The death of Uike is a body blow to the Maoists in the state because the outfit does not have any senior leader. Modem Balakrishna, who for some time looked after Odisha affairs for the outfit, was killed in an encounter with security forces in Chhattisgarh’s Gariyaband district on September 11,” a senior officer said.
Active along the Odisha-Chhattisgarh-Maharashtra corridor for nearly a decade, Uike was involved in armed squad operations, cadre recruitment, and forest-based movements. Officials said his expertise in forest operations failed in the Kandhamal-Ganjam border area, leading to his neutralisation.
PTI
