Varanasi, September 20, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Brijesh Ganjhu alias Gopal Singh Bhokta, chief of the banned Jharkhand-based Maoist outfit Tritiya Prastuti Committee (TPC), was killed in an encounter with the Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) in Varanasi on Sunday morning, officials said.
Ganjhu carried a cumulative bounty of Rs 30 lakh announced by the Jharkhand government and the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
According to security agencies, the encounter took place around 5 a.m. near Tengra Mod in the Ramnagar police station area.
The UP ATS had received intelligence that Ganjhu was travelling on a motorcycle through Ramnagar towards Mughalsarai. Following the information, an ATS team laid a trap in the area.
Police said that when ATS personnel signalled him to stop, Ganjhu allegedly opened fire at the team. The ATS personnel retaliated, and Ganjhu sustained bullet injuries during the exchange.
He was taken to a district hospital for treatment, where doctors declared him dead.
ATS Deputy Superintendent of Police Vipin Rai said bullets fired by Ganjhu struck the bulletproof jackets of him and Head Constable Nitendra Krishna during the encounter. One of Ganjhu’s associates managed to escape from the spot.
The ATS recovered two pistols, live cartridges and spent shells from the encounter site. Ganjhu’s body has been kept at the post-mortem facility of Lal Bahadur Shastri Hospital in Varanasi.
A resident of Lawalong in Jharkhand’s Chatra district, Ganjhu had been on the wanted lists of security and investigative agencies for several years.
The Jharkhand government had announced a reward of Rs 25 lakh for information leading to his arrest, while the NIA had separately announced a reward of Rs 5 lakh.
Ganjhu was wanted in several cases involving murder, extortion, illegal arms activities and terror funding across Jharkhand and other states. The NIA was also searching for him in connection with a terror-financing case linked to the TPC.
Investigators alleged that he played a key role in a levy-extortion network targeting businesses associated with coal mining, transportation and contracting operations.
Following his death, security agencies in Jharkhand have begun reviewing records related to cases registered against him and his alleged involvement in Maoist activities.
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