In a major breakthrough against the outlawed CPI (Maoist) in the state in recent years, police arrested CPI (Maoist) special area committee member and zonal commander Ajay Mahato alias Tiger alias Basudev, who carried a bounty of ₹25 lakh, during a late-night operation in Harladih area of Giridih district, police said on Friday. .
Event Context
Team Analysis
Acting on specific intelligence inputs, a special team constituted under the direction of Giridih SP Bimal Kumar, raided a house belonging to Karmu Manjhi, where Mahato was allegedly hiding. Two other Maoist cadres were also arrested during the operation, and all three are being interrogated, police added.
Police said Mahato, a resident of Nawadih village under Pirtand police station in Giridih, was a close associate of senior Maoist leader Misir Besra and had served as the CPI(Maoist) zonal commander in Parasnath region. He was wanted in over 100 criminal cases, including murder, extortion, attacks on police forces, IED blasts, arson of road construction machinery and damage to government property. Security agencies in Jharkhand, Bihar, West Bengal and Odisha had been searching for him for years.
Officials said a large quantity of arms and ammunition was recovered during the operation. Investigators suspect the Maoist leader was planning a major incident or attending an organisational meeting when the security forces launched the raid.
Earlier, the Giridih district administration had recommended prosecution of Mahato and 11 other Maoists under sedition and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), for which approval from the state Home Department had already been obtained.
“The arrest of Ajay Mahato is a major blow to the Maoist organisation. We will continue our intensive operations to dismantle the remaining extremist network and ensure lasting peace in the region,” SP Bimal Kumar said.
