The exchange of fire took place at Saranda forest's Kumdi in the Kiriburu police station area: Police
Chaibasa(Jharkhand): The Jharkhand Police on Thursday said that 16 Maoists, including top commander Patiram Manjhi alias Anal Da, who carried a bounty of Rs 2.35 crore, were killed in an encounter with security forces in West Singhbhum district. Five women were among those killed.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed the anti-Maoist operation, stating that Anal Da, a Central Committee member of CPI (Maoist), and 15 others were neutralised in a joint operation by the Central Reserve Police Force and Jharkhand Police. The bounty on Anal Da included Rs 1 crore announced by the Jharkhand government, Rs 1.2 crore by the Odisha government and Rs 15 lakh by the National Investigation Agency.
In a post on X, Shah said the operation marked a major success in the campaign to make the region free of Naxalism and appealed to the remaining Maoists to shun violence and join the mainstream. He reiterated the government’s commitment to eradicate Naxalism by March 31, 2026.
According to security officials, around 1,500 personnel of the CRPF’s CoBRA unit were involved in the operation in the Kumdi area of the Saranda forest under Kiriburu police station limits, describing it as one of the biggest anti-Maoist drives in the state.
Inspector General of CRPF Saket Kumar Singh said the bodies of the Maoists, including Anal Da, had been recovered. Eleven bodies have been identified so far, while identification of the remaining five is underway. He said this was the first time such a large number of Maoist bodies had been recovered in a single encounter in Jharkhand.
Singh said that except for Misir Besra, all Central Committee members of CPI (Maoist) operating in Jharkhand had been eliminated. He added that only about 60-65 Maoists were believed to be active in the state, largely confined to the Singhbhum region.
Jharkhand Police IG (Operations) Michael Raj S. said five women Maoists were among those killed in the operation, codenamed Operation Megaburu.
Officials said Anal Da was wanted in 149 Maoist-related cases and was involved in several major attacks, including the 2006 assault on a CISF camp in Bokaro, the killing of security personnel in Seraikela-Kharswan in 2019, and the looting of explosives in Odisha in 2025.
Another senior Maoist leader killed was Anmol alias Sushant, a member of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee, who carried a reward of Rs 90 lakh. Several other regional, sub-zonal and area committee members were also killed. A large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered from the site.
Police said the operation, launched following a tip-off about the presence of Anal Da and his squad in the Saranda forest, is still continuing.
