Ranchi, April 17: In a significant operation against Maoist insurgency, security forces achieved a major victory in Jharkhand on Friday. A fierce encounter in the dense forests of ‘Batuka-Khapiya,’ located on the border of Chatra and Hazaribagh districts, resulted in the elimination of four members of the banned Communist Party of India (Maoist), including the regional committee member Sahadev Mahto, who had a bounty of ₹15 lakh on his head.
Sahadev Mahto was wanted in 42 cases and was implicated in the Chaibasa jail break. The other three deceased Maoists were identified as Ranjit Ganjhu, a zonal committee member with a bounty of ₹10 lakh (involved in 9 cases), Sahadev Mahto’s wife Natasha, a sub-zonal committee member (involved in 17 cases), and Budhan Karamali, an area commander with a bounty of ₹1 lakh (involved in 10 cases).
This operation, dubbed ‘Operation Kotinir,’ dealt a significant blow to the active Maoist groups in the Hazaribagh-Chatra border areas. CRPF IG Saket Kumar and official sources from the police headquarters confirmed the encounter and the identities of the slain Maoists. Security forces received precise intelligence that Sahadev Mahto was gathering with his squad in the bordering forests of Keradari and Piparwar to plan a major incident.
Acting on this information, the 209 Cobra Battalion and Jharkhand police launched a blockade of the entire area. As the security forces approached the Khapiya-Batuka region on Friday afternoon, the Maoists opened fire in a desperate bid to escape encirclement.
In response, the troops quickly took action, and after hours of intense fighting, all four Maoists were neutralized. Following the encounter, a thorough search operation was conducted, leading to the recovery of the bodies of the four Maoists. A large cache of advanced weaponry was also found at the scene, including two AK-47 rifles, one Colt AR-15 rifle, one INSAS rifle, and a significant quantity of ammunition and other materials.
According to police reports, Sahadev Mahto had long been a symbol of terror in the border areas of Chatra, Hazaribagh, and Latehar. Security forces believe that this successful operation has nearly dismantled the Maoist network active in the Parasnath-Lugujhumra and Hazaribagh-Chatra corridors. Search operations in the area are still ongoing.
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