16 Naxalites killed in Jharkhand encounter

Sixteen Maoists, including senior leader Patiram Manjhi alias Anal Da, who had a bounty of Rs 1 crore on his head, were killed in a fierce encounter with security forces in the Saranda forest of Jharkhand’s West Singhbhum district on Thursday, officials said.

Jharkhand Police IG (Operations) Michaelraj S said Anal Da was among those killed along with several other Maoists.

He added that an extensive search operation is still on in the area.

According to police officials, the encounter broke out early Thursday morning near Kumbhdih village under the Chotanagra police station limits after security forces launched a joint operation based on specific intelligence inputs about Maoist movement in the area.

The Maoists, who were reportedly lying in ambush, opened indiscriminate fire on the security personnel.

Security personnel retaliated and strategically surrounded the Maoists. After several hours of intense exchange of fire, the forces gained the upper hand.

After Manjhi's elimination, only six key members of the outlawed CPI (Maoist)’s central committee are left.

They are Muppala Laxman Rao, Thippiri Thirupathi aka Devji (reportedly the new CPI [Maoist] general secretary), Paka Hanumanthulu and Pusunuri Narahari (all from Telangana); Misir Besra (Jharkhand) and Majjidev (from Chhattisgarh).

Anal Da, a native of Giridih district, had been associated with the Maoist movement for over two decades and was considered one of its key strategists.

His influence reportedly spanned multiple districts including Giridih, Bokaro, Hazaribagh, Khunti, Seraikela-Kharsawan and West Singhbhum, where he played a key role in consolidating the Maoist network, particularly in the Saranda and Kolhan regions.

He was implicated in dozens of serious criminal cases, ranging from attacks on security forces and IED explosions to extortion and issuing threats to contractors.

Home Minister Amit Shah lauded the success of the operation in which Manjhi was killed. In a post on X, Shah said that the ongoing joint operation by the CRPF and Jharkhand Police in West Singhbhum achieved a major success in anti-Naxal operation with killing of 'Anal alias Patiram Manjhi', a notorious Naxalite central committee member carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore, and 15 other Naxalites.

He once again appealed to the remaining Naxalites to abandon the ideology that connects them to violence, terror and weapons and join the mainstream of development and trust.

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Courtesy: The Tribune -23-Jan-2026