2024 Recap: 244 Maoists, 154 gangsters arrested in Jharkhand

Among those arrested were one Special Area Committee (SAC) member, two zonal commanders, six sub-zonal commanders, and six area commanders

Ranchi: The police have claimed that it made significant strides in addressing the menace of Left Wing extremism in 2024, arresting 244 Maoists, including key leaders. Among those arrested were one Special Area Committee (SAC) member, two zonal commanders, six sub-zonal commanders, and six area commanders.

IG (Operations) AV Homkar said that the police picked up SAC member Jaya Di alias Chinta, Shambhu Ganjhu alias Ravi Ganjhu, a zonal commander with a Rs 10 lakh reward on his head, and Sitaram Rajwar alias Raman Rajwar, also carrying a Rs 10 lakh bounty.

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Several extremists from the Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), a splinter group of the CPI (Maoist), were also arrested, including Adesh Kumar Ganjhu, Sabita Sharma alias Raja Ji, and others, carrying a total reward of Rs 36 lakh, he said. The police also arrested 154 members of various criminal gangs during the year.

“In 2024, 24 Maoists surrendered, including four zonal commanders, one sub-zonal commander, three area commanders, and one member,” he said adding that nine Maoists were killed in police encounters, while the authorities recovered 123 weapons, including 35 looted police firearms, seven standard weapons, and 81 locally made firearms.

Police also seized 246.40 kg of explosives, and Rs 13.39 lakh collected as levy. Furthermore, 239 Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) planted by Maoists were destroyed by the police, a statement from police headquarters claimed. On the cybercrime front, Jharkhand Police registered 1,295 cases, leading to 971 arrests.

The authorities recovered 2,118 mobile phones, 2,905 SIM cards, 606 ATM cards, 165 bank passbooks, and 52 laptops, among other items. “Cash recoveries amounted to Rs 8.17 crore, and Rs 77.20 lakh was frozen in bank accounts. A significant tool in combating cybercrime was the Pratibimb App, which helped register 274 cases and led to the arrest of 898 individuals. Through these efforts, Rs 66.43 crore was frozen in bank accounts, and Rs 3.27 crore was returned to victims,” the statement said.

In anti-drug operations, police arrested 1,362 individuals involved in drug-related offences. Police claimed the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) also made strides, arresting four operatives linked to Al Qaeda. Along with these arrests, ATS seized Rs 1.22 crore in cash and Rs 15 lakh worth of jewellery. Homkar said Jharkhand Police also focused on the well-being of their personnel and organised Public Grievance Resolution Programmes across all districts.