Jharkhand: CRPF DG reviews anti-Naxal ops; meets CoBRA commandos

Ranchi, Sep 19 (PTI) CRPF Director General (DG) G P Singh reviewed anti-Naxal operations in Jharkhand on Friday and met the CoBRA commandos who killed three Maoists earlier this week in a major operation undertaken as part of a plan to eliminate Left Wing Extremism (LWE) from India by March 2026.

Three Communist Party of India (Maoist) cadre, including its central committee member Sahdev Soren who was carrying a bounty of Rs 1 crore, were killed in a gunfight with security forces in Hazaribag district on September 15.

The DG, who flew down from Delhi for a daylong tour, first visited a private hospital here and met CoBRA commando Ajoy Bhowmik, who was injured in the encounter, a senior Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) officer said.

Singh, along with senior officials of the force, later went to the camp of the 209th Commando Battalion for Resolute Action (CoBRA) and met the troops who participated in the said operation.

The two others killed in the operation that took place in the Pantitri forests were identified as special area committee member and Rs 25-lakh awardee Raghunath Hembram alias Chanchal and zonal committee member and Rs 10-lakh awardee Birsen Ganjhu.

The DG interacted with the commandos and reviewed the current status of the anti-Naxal operations being undertaken by the CRPF, its special jungle warfare unit CoBRA and the Jharkhand Police, the officer said.

The CRPF is the lead force undertaking operations across the LWE grid in various states and it has deployed about 20 battalions in Jharkhand too for this offensive.

The September 15 operation was carried out following the Centre's directive to end the Naxal menace in the country by March 2026. The forces will be undertaking continuous operations to target the top Maoist leadership in the coming days, another officer said.

The 209 CoBRA unit has killed more than 20 "hardcore" Naxals in the state so far this year and apprehended three ultras, besides seizing 32 sophisticated weapons, 345 kg of ammunition and 2,500 live bullets. PTI NES RC