Bokaro, April 25 : In a significant breakthrough in the fight against left-wing extremism, Jharkhand Police on Monday gunned down Prayag, a high-profile Naxalite commander carrying a ₹1 crore bounty, during an encounter on Lugu hill in Bokaro district. The operation also led to the recovery of critical digital evidence, which officials say could help dismantle key Naxalite networks.
Following the four-hour-long encounter, security forces recovered 35 pen drives, several memory cards, and two Samsung tablets from the site. According to police sources, the devices contain detailed plans of the Naxal organization, including methods of cadre training, financial records from levy collections, propaganda content, and the identities of both organizational think tanks and levy contributors.
“The material found in the recovered devices includes details of levy transactions, training modules, and the Naxals’ future strategies. This will significantly help us in identifying and cracking down on their support systems,” said a senior officer from Bokaro police.
The police believe the digital trove will expose the financial and operational backbone of the group and aid in tracking both internal members and external facilitators who provide monetary or logistical support.
The encounter marks the second major offensive in recent months. In an earlier operation in January, security forces recovered two AK-47 rifles from fleeing Naxals. This time, no AK-47s were recovered — an indication, police say, that the Naxals had already lost access to advanced weaponry and were increasingly outmatched by better-armed security forces.
“Now only half a dozen cadre-level small Naxalites are left in the district. It is likely that they will surrender. If this does not happen then they will also be killed in an encounter or arrested,” said Manoj Swargiari, SP Bokaro.
With the number of active cadres in the region dwindling, officials expect more surrenders or further targeted operations in the coming weeks. The recovery of such detailed digital data marks a potential turning point in ongoing efforts to root out Naxal influence in Jharkhand.
