Four Maoists, including ₹15 lakh bounty commander Sahdeo Mahto, killed in Hazaribag encounter

Four Maoists, including a senior leader carrying a ₹15 lakh bounty , were killed in a gunfight with security forces during an anti-insurgency operation in Jharkhand’s Hazaribag district on Friday, officials said.

The encounter took place in the Khapia forest area under Keredari block near the Hazaribag–Chatra border after security agencies received specific intelligence inputs about the presence of a Maoist squad in the region. Acting on the information, joint teams of Jharkhand Police and the 209 Battalion of CoBRA commandos of the CRPF launched a coordinated search operation under ‘Operation KotiNeer’ .

According to officials, the Maoists opened fire on the advancing security forces around 1–2 pm , triggering a fierce exchange of fire that lasted about half an hour before the four cadres were neutralised. No security personnel were injured in the operation.

The slain Maoists were identified as regional committee member Sahdeo Mahto alias Anuj , who carried a reward of ₹15 lakh and was wanted in multiple cases; zonal committee member Ranjit Ganjhu , carrying a ₹10 lakh bounty; area commander Budhan Karmali , with a reward of ₹1 lakh; and sub-zonal committee member Natasha , a woman cadre who had come from Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district.

Police said Mahto was a veteran Maoist commander and had earlier escaped custody during the 2011 Chaibasa jailbreak . Officials described him as a key figure in the Maoist network operating across parts of Jharkhand.

Security forces recovered a cache of sophisticated weapons from the encounter site, including two AK-47 rifles, a Colt AR-15 rifle and an INSAS rifle , along with ammunition, Maoist literature and other materials.

Officials said the elimination of the squad has dealt a major blow to Maoist activities in the Parasnath–Lugu-Jhumra and Hazaribag-Chatra belt , where the group had been active. Security forces have intensified combing operations in the forest as some other Maoist cadres are suspected to have been injured or escaped during the encounter.

The development comes close on the heels of another exchange of fire between police and a Maoist squad led by Misir Besra , who carries a ₹1 crore bounty, in Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on April 15, in which four security personnel were injured.

Meanwhile, the Centre has informed state governments that there are no districts currently classified as affected by Left Wing Extremism , following a recent review by the Ministry of Home Affairs under the National Policy and Action Plan to Address LWE .