Ranchi, October 14: The Jharkhand Police has intensified its crackdown on Maoist insurgents and cybercriminals across the state this year. Between January and September, 266 Maoists were arrested, 32 were killed, and 30 surrendered before security forces, according to IG (Operations) and Police Spokesperson Michael Raj S.
He said the crackdown targeted top leaders of the CPI (Maoist) and its splinter outfits. Among those arrested were two regional committee members, one zonal commander, two sub-zonal commanders, and nine area commanders.
During the same period, 32 Maoists were killed in encounters with security forces. Two of the most wanted rebels — Vivek alias Prayag Manjhi and Anuj alias Sahdev Soren were among those killed. Both were central committee members of CPI (Maoist) and carried a reward of ₹1 crore each on their heads.
The officer said that 30 Maoists also surrendered this year, including Ravindra Yadav (zonal commander), Anand Singh (sub-zonal commander of CPI-Maoist), and Lavlesh Ganjhu alias Lokesh Ganjhu (sub-zonal commander of Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad).
Police also made major arms recoveries during anti-Maoist operations. Between January and September, they seized 157 firearms (including 58 looted police weapons), 11,950 cartridges, 18,884 detonators, 394.5 kg of explosives, and 228 improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Security forces also destroyed 37 Maoist bunkers and confiscated ₹39.53 lakh in levy money.
Alongside the anti-Naxal operations, Jharkhand Police launched an extensive drive against cybercrime in recent months. In August and September alone, the police registered 128 FIRs and arrested 105 cybercriminals.
The raids led to the seizure of 128 mobile phones, 166 SIM cards, 60 ATM cards, 15 passbooks, 11 cheque books, two laptops, and ₹2.81 lakh in cash.
Officials said both the anti-Maoist and cybercrime operations will continue as part of the state’s broader strategy to strengthen law and order in Jharkhand.
