BOKARO, India, April 21 – Eight suspected Maoist insurgents, including a top leader carrying a bounty of ₹1 crore, were killed in a gunbattle with security forces in Jharkhand’s Bokaro district on Monday, officials said, marking a major breakthrough in the government’s ongoing anti-Naxal operations.
The encounter took place in the early hours at Lugu Hills in the Lalpania area during a joint operation by the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and Jharkhand Police, backed by the elite 209 CoBRA battalion. Security forces recovered multiple firearms including AK-series rifles, INSAS rifles, and country-made weapons, a CRPF official said.
Among those killed was Vivek alias Prayag Manjhi, a central committee member of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist), who had a ₹1 crore ($120,000) bounty on his head. Also killed were Arvind Yadav alias Avinash, a special area committee member with a ₹25 lakh bounty, and Sahebram Manjhi alias Rahul Manjhi, a zonal committee member wanted in several cases, police said.
“No injuries were reported among the security personnel,” the CRPF added.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the operation on social media platform X, calling it a “significant success” in India’s fight against Maoist extremism. “Our march to eliminate Naxalism continues unabated,” he wrote.
Jharkhand’s Director General of Police Anurag Gupta said the encounter had effectively wiped out Maoist squads in the state’s north Chotanagpur region. “Maoists have nearly been eliminated across Jharkhand,” Gupta said, adding that security operations will now shift focus to the Saranda forests in Chaibasa.
Gupta urged remaining Maoist fighters to surrender under the state’s rehabilitation policy, stating that the goal is to neutralize all remaining insurgent groups before the monsoon season.
India has battled Maoist insurgencies for decades, particularly in mineral-rich central and eastern states, where rebels claim to fight for the rights of tribal communities and rural poor. The government labels them as the country’s most serious internal security threat.
