Who Was Pathiram Manjhi? Maoist Leader With Rs 1 Crore Bounty On His Head Gets Killed In Encounter In Jharkhand

Security forces killed a top Maoist leader, Pathiram Manjhi, along with about 14 others during a gunfight in Jharkhand’s Saranda forests on Thursday, January 22. 

Who Was Pathiram Manjhi?

Manjhi, who had a ₹1 crore bounty on his head, was a Central Committee member and also served as the secretary for the Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee of the outlawed Communist Party of India (Maoist). He came from Giridih district.

The encounter started near Kumbhdih village in West Singhbhum, under the Chotanagra police station. The operation isn’t over yet security teams are still combing the area.

This shootout happened just a few weeks after one of the group’s main strategists, Barsa Deva, a close aide to Commander Madvi Hidma surrendered to Telangana Police along with more than a dozen followers.

₹1 Crore Bounty on the Maoist Leader

Manjhi’s death is a big setback for the Maoists. The group has been reeling lately, thanks to relentless anti-Naxal operations in what used to be their strongholds across states like Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.

With Manjhi gone, the Maoists’ top brass is almost wiped out. Only Thippiri Tirupathi, known as Devuji, remains at large, and security forces are tracking him closely.

How Security Forces Crippled Maoist Leadership

The organisation has also lost several top leaders recently, with central committee and politburo members surrendering.

These operations have picked up pace as security forces work toward Home Minister Amit Shah’s public deadline: wipe out left-wing extremism in India by March 31. 

Gunfire kept echoing from deep inside the forest, and it’s rattling everyone in the nearby villages. People say they were scared, anxious, nobody’s really slept with all this shooting going on.

DIG Anuranjan Kispotta from Kolhan Division confirmed the clash. He said security forces and Maoists are still exchanging fire, and he’ll talk more once the operation wraps up.

Saranda isn’t an easy place to fight. The forest is thick, the land is rough, and for years, Maoists have called this patch their home. 

Since November 2022, police and paramilitary teams have been running joint raids in Kolhan and Saranda. They’re chasing top Maoist leaders, especially Misir Besra, who’s got a Rs 1 crore bounty on his head. Intelligence says he’s hiding somewhere in those woods.

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