Top Maoist With Rs 1 Crore Bounty Gunned Down In Jharkhand's Hazaribag

Hazaribag: A top leader of the Communist Party of India (Maoist) was among three killed in an encounter with security forces in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag district on Monday morning.

The body of Sahadev Soren, who carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore, was recovered along with two others in the Pantitri forest after an exchange of fire. Arms and ammunition were seized and the search is continuing for other Maoists, the police said.

“An encounter broke out in the Pantitri forest under the Gorhar police station, between security forces and a squad led by Soren around 6 am on Monday. At least three Maoists, including Soren have been neutralised. A hunt is on for the others,” an official said.

This is the second success in as many days for the security forces in Jharkhand. On Sunday, a Maoist named Sukhdeo Yadav, with a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was killed in the state’s Palamu district.

Security forces have also been extremely successful in Chhattisgarh over the last week. Nearly a dozen Maoists were killed in encounters in the state. They included top leader Modem Balakrishna, who also carried a bounty of Rs 1 crore.

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has set a target to end Left Wing Extremism in the country by March 31, 2026.

In June this year, the central committee of the CPI (Maoist) had admitted that they lost 357 cadres over the last year. Among those killed were top leaders like Nambala Kesava Rao alias Basavaraju and Sudhakar.