Security forces neutralised three Maoists, including a top commander carrying a bounty of ₹1 crore, during an encounter in the Pati Piri forest of Hazaribagh district on Monday, officials confirmed.
Superintendent of Police Anjani Anjan identified the deceased as Sahdev Soren alias Parvesh, a Central Committee member with a ₹1 crore reward on his head. Alongside him, Raghunath Hembram, a Bihar-Jharkhand Special Area Committee member carrying a ₹25 lakh bounty, and Birsen Ganjhu alias Ramkhelavan, a regional committee member with a ₹10 lakh reward, were also killed.
Security personnel recovered multiple weapons, including an AK-47, from the site. The operation is still underway as forces continue to search for other Maoists in the area.
The encounter began during a joint search operation by the 209 CoBRA battalion and Hazaribagh police on Sunday in the Gorhar police station limits.
Soren, the top Maoist killed, had previously been involved in a July exchange of fire in Bokaro, where a CoBRA jawan lost his life.
This operation follows the September 7 encounter in Chaibasa, where Maoist zonal commander Aaptan alias Amit Hansda, carrying a ₹10 lakh reward and over 95 cases against him, was gunned down.
Police sources revealed that intelligence inputs suggested top Maoist leaders were planning large-scale attacks and recruiting fresh cadres, prompting intensified operations in Jharkhand’s Maoist-affected belts.
