In a significant development in India's ongoing battle against Maoist insurgency, senior Maoist leader Pappu Lohara, carrying a bounty of ₹10 lakh, was killed by security forces in Jharkhand's Latehar district on Saturday.

Lohara was the chief of the Jharkhand Jan Mukti Parishad (JJMP), a splinter Maoist outfit formed around 2010 after a rift within the Communist Party of India (Maoist). His death, along with that of his close aide Prabhat Ganjhu—who had a ₹5 lakh bounty—marks a substantial blow to the JJMP's operations in the region.

The encounter took place in the dense forests of Ichabar, Latehar, following precise intelligence inputs about the presence of armed extremists. Security forces, comprising the Jharkhand Police and paramilitary units, launched a search operation early in the morning.

As the team advanced, Maoists opened fire, prompting a fierce gunfight. The operation resulted in the deaths of Lohara and Ganjhu, while another group member was injured and subsequently arrested. An INSAS rifle was recovered from the scene.

Lohara was a prominent figure in the region’s insurgency network, wanted in connection with 60 to 70 criminal cases, including extortion, murder, and attacks on security personnel. The JJMP, under his leadership, had been particularly active in Latehar and neighboring districts, engaging in various unlawful activities.

This encounter follows closely on the heels of another major anti-Maoist operation: the killing of Nambala Keshav Rao alias Basavaraju, the general secretary and former Central Military Commission chief of CPI (Maoist), in Chhattisgarh's Narayanpur district. Basavaraju, who carried a reward of ₹1.5 crore and was wanted by the National Investigation Agency and police forces in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, was among 27 Maoists killed after a prolonged gunfight along the Narayanpur-Bijapur border.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah hailed these recent encounters as landmark achievements in the government's campaign to eradicate Naxalism. He emphasised that this was the first time in three decades that a general secretary-ranked Maoist leader had been neutralised by Indian forces.

Shah reiterated the Modi government's commitment to eliminating Maoist insurgency by March 31, 2026, noting that since the completion of "Operation Black Forest," 54 Maoists have been arrested and 84 have surrendered across Chhattisgarh, Telangana, and Maharashtra.

The successful operations against both Lohara and Basavaraju are seen as pivotal moments in India's counter-insurgency efforts, significantly weakening the Maoist leadership and disrupting their organisational structure in key regions. Security forces continue combing operations in the Latehar forests to trace any remaining members of the JJMP, underscoring the intensified crackdown on Maoist outfits in the country.

Agencies