Ranchi, July 29, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
In a significant success for security forces battling Left Wing Extremism, top CPI (Maoist) leader Misir Besra, carrying a reward of Rs 1 crore, was arrested along with two senior associates during a joint operation in Jharkhand.
According to official sources, the operation was conducted late Tuesday night by the Jharkhand Police, the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) and the CoBRA battalion in the border region of Dhanbad and Giridih districts. The action followed specific intelligence inputs regarding the movement of the senior Maoist leader.
Besra, a Politburo member of the banned CPI (Maoist) and among the country’s most wanted insurgent leaders, was apprehended along with Mehnat alias Mochhu alias Vibhishan Murmu and Gaurav alias Saurabh, both Regional Committee members of the outfit. Each of the two associates carried a reward of Rs 15 lakh.
Security personnel also detained two other individuals during the operation. They are being questioned to ascertain their alleged links with the Maoist organisation.
The arrests came a day after 16 Maoist cadres surrendered before authorities in Ranchi. Among them was Devan Murmu alias Shanicharva, who had served as a close bodyguard of Misir Besra. Officials said intelligence gathered from the surrendered cadre helped security agencies identify Besra’s movements and plan the successful operation.
A native of the Pirtand area in Giridih district, Misir Besra, also known by aliases Bhaskar, Sunirmal and Sagar, joined the Maoist movement nearly four decades ago and rose to become a member of the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
Officials said more than 150 criminal cases have been registered against him across Jharkhand, Bihar, Odisha and Chhattisgarh, including allegations of murder, attacks on security personnel, IED blasts, extortion and illegal levy collection.
Besra had previously been arrested in 2007 by Khunti Police but escaped from custody in 2009 after Maoists attacked the Lakhisarai court complex in Bihar.
Security agencies believe his arrest is a major setback for the Maoist leadership, which has witnessed a series of arrests, encounters and surrenders in recent months. Besra and his associates are currently being interrogated at an undisclosed location, with investigators seeking information on the outfit’s active network, arms caches, funding channels and operational plans.
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