Jharkhand Police launches massive manhunt to nab 55 Maoists carrying cumulative bounty of Rs 8.45 crore

Jharkhand Police launched a major crackdown on Naxalites, arresting 197, with 10 surrenders and 17 killed since January. A hunt is on for 55 top Maoists with Rs 8.45 crore bounty. Massive arms and explosives have been recovered in operations

Ranchi: The Jharkhand Police on Friday said a massive manhunt is underway to nab 55 Naxalites, including top CPI (Maoist) commanders, carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 8.45 crore.

It said security forces launched an extensive operation to weed out Naxalites from the State and during the past six months, 197 Maoists have been arrested, while 10 of them surrendered and 17 were killed.

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The police also claimed to have recovered a huge quantity of arms and ammunition during the anti-Naxal drives, including 31 weapons looted from the forces. “In 2025, till the month of June, a total of 197 Naxalites have been arrested. They include two regional committee members, a zonal commander, a sub-zonal commander and seven area commanders…

“Altogether 10 Naxalites surrendered before the police while 17 were killed in encounters,” Inspector General of Police (Operations), Michael S Raj, told reporters here.

A massive search operation is underway to apprehend 55 Maoists carrying a cumulative bounty of Rs 8.45 crore, said Raj, who is also the Spokesperson of Jharkhand Police. The 55 Naxalites include top Maoist commanders like Misir Besra, Asim Mandal, Anal Da and Anuj, who carry a bounty of Rs 1 crore each, he said.

During the operations, a total of 113 weapons were recovered, besides 8,591 bullets, 177 kg of explosive material and 179 IEDs planted by the Maoists, Raj said. In the course of a joint operation by Jharkhand and Odisha Police, 3,811 kg of gelatin was also recovered, he added.