New Delhi: Delivering yet another blow to the already crumbling Communist Party of India (Maoist), security forces Thursday killed Pathiram Manjhi, a member of its top decision-making body Central Committee, in an encounter in Jharkhand’s Saranda forests.
With Manjhi killed, the top leadership of the CPI(M) has now almost been eliminated, with only Thippiri Tirupathi alias Devuji remaining, with security forces in hot pursuit.
The 51-year-old Manjhi, alias Anal Da, was also the secretary of the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee of the banned outfit. Manjhi, who was from the Giridih district of the state, had a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head.
Misir Besra is now the only surviving member of the Central Committee from Jharkhand.
Along with Manjhi, 14 more suspected Maoist cadres were killed in the exchange of fire with the security forces, comprising troops from the Jharkhand Jaguar force, and Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA), a specialised elite force within the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF).
Some of those killed alongside Manjhi have been identified by the Jharkhand Police as Anmol alias Sushant, Amit Munda, Pintu Lohra, and Laljit alias Lalu. Those killed also included area committee members.
Addressing a press conference later in the day, Inspector General of Police Michael Raj S said the security forces fired in self-defence after indiscriminate firing from the Maoists, leading to casualties of 15 Maoist cadres, including Manjhi.
The encounter of Manjhi is another major blow to the organisational strength of the banned outfit, which is under immense pressure due to the intensive anti-Naxal operations deep inside what used to be their strongholds across Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Additionally, the organisation has also been dealt body blows by the surrender of several key members of its central committee and politburo. The two top bodies at one point used to have more than 20 members who form the core of the banned outfit’s brain, and strategised operations against the security forces.
The Thursday encounter comes weeks after the surrender of one of the key strategists of the Maoist outfit before the Telangana Police. Barsa Deva, an associate of the dreaded Maoist commander Madvi Hidma, laid down his arms with more than a dozen cadres.
The intensive operations are taking place as security forces are chasing the deadline of 31 March 2026, set publicly by the Union Home Minister Amit Shah for the eradication of Left Wing Extremism in the country.
This is an updated version of the report.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)