Jharkhand launches well-timed offensive against Reds

Jharkhand launches well-timed offensive against Reds

Maoist leader Koteshwar Rao alias Kishanji, killed by CoBRA forces in the jungles of Burisole in West Midnapore on Thursday evening, was in Parasnath Hills of Giridih district in Jharkhand before leaving for Odisha last month.

Kishanji, the central committee member of CPI (Maoist) and head of military commission and Eastern Regional Bureau (ERB), was killed alongwith four other Maoists in the fierce gunbattle which went on for half an hour on Thursday evening.

On October 25, Kishanji sneaked into the forests of Parasnath Hills in Giridih district which have borders with West Bengal and Bihar with around 25 of its close associates and held a high-level meeting in the forests with leaders from Bihar, Jharkhand and even Bengal.

According to Intelligence Bureau officials, they were precisely tracking Kishanji for the past three months and a special team was dedicatedly working in West Bengal as well as in the Naxal division of the Union Home Ministry.

Sources said that on October 26, the high-level meeting of Kishanji started with other leaders which included erstwhile Maoist Command Centre leaders and the purpose was to re-strengthen the outfit in the Bihar-Jharkhand-Odisha belt.

“The meeting focussed on reducing the differences between MCC and CPI(Maoist) as most of the leaders of the former outfit believed that they were neglected and their senior leaders were either killed or arrested due to mistrust between them and People’s War Group leaders,” said an Intelligence official.

“Several other issues like the effect of Operation Monsoon in Saranda forests, kangaroo courts and issues related to collection and distribution of levy and purchase of firearms from North-east were also discussed at length in the day-long meeting,” said the official, adding that after that meeting, Kishanji and Suchitra had moved to Odisha through Saranda forests.

It was from Odisha that Kishanji and Suchitra along with other cadres returned to West Bengal a week ago. The information of their return had reached the security forces and finally they launched an intensive operation on Tuesday evening in the forests of Burisole.

After the death of Kishanji, Jharkhand police have gone on an all-out offensive against the Maoists in a well-planned strategy. Special operations were launched against the Maoists in Jhumra hills of Bokaro district, Sataki jungle of Ranchi district, Saranda forests of West Singhbhum and Saryu jungle of Latehar district.

“Forces are still in the jungle and the operation was launched after a specific input of Maoist movement in the forests,” said Ranchi SSP Saket Kumar Singh, adding that continuous operation has been launched in the area.

In Bokaro district, where the operation was launched in Jhumra hills after specific inputs of movement of the Navin-Manji led squad, it was called off late in the evening without any success. In Saryu jungles, too, security forces did not have any success and so was the case in Saranda forests.

IG (Operations) SN Pradhan said that operations in the State are being launched after specific inputs and Maoists in different parts are being cornered. “With the Maoist leader Kishanji being killed in police encounter, it is evident that the Maoist movement in Jharkhand will also take a beating and security forces will try to take the upper hand,” Pradhan said.